Domaine Sainte-Barbe - 'l'Expression' - Chardonnay - Mâcon, Burgundy, FR - 2023

Notes from the Winery/Importer

With aromas of grapefruit, lemon and white peach, the nose is expressive. The palate is well-balanced, delicious, easy to drink with a saline touch on the finish. Our southeast- facing slopes are located in the heart of the Mâconnais region in Southern Burgundy, and benefit from the microclimate of the Saône River Valley. Our marl and limestone soils were mainly formed from the breaking down of limestone rock containing ooliths from the Bathonian period. Most of our vineyards are planted mid-slope in a variety of terroirs stretching from south of the village of Viré to “Thurissey”, a hamlet of the village of Montbellet. The average age of our vines is 50 years. We use Massale Selection to ensure the genetic diversity of our plantations. The Domaine produces an average of 50,000 bottles per year, including 6 individual cuvée wines made from plots in Viré-Clesse, a Mâcon-Villages, a Bourgogne red, a Mâcon-Burgy red, and white and rosé sparkling wines made according to the méthode champenoise or traditional method. We also make several types of Burgundian eaux-de-vie, Marc and Fine de Bourgogne. Our wines are matured in vats or oak barrels for periods between 10 to 24 months. Our vinification uses indigenous yeast, which highlights our terroirs and is a long-standing Burgundian tradition. Our aim is to express the minerality of our wines, as well as balance, structure, purity, salinity, silkiness, a hint of butteriness, a touch of sapidity…and much more! Our wines have a variety of storage times. A Mâcon wine can be drunk young, while our Viré-Clessé Parcellaire wines can be aged in your cellar for several years.

Notes on the Producer

Viré, Mâcon, Bourgundy Domaine Sainte Barbe is a 9-hectare collection of Chardonnay, Gamay, and Pinot Noir vines running the length of the sloping hill of Viré, one of the Mâcon’s most distinguished villages. Jean-Marie Chaland represents the 3rd generation of his family to work these vines. The collection of 23 parcels (totaling 8.5ha) under his stewardship demonstrate the diversity in terroir of a region that is often not given the same careful examination that Burgundy’s more heralded postal codes are usually afforded. Jean-Marie’s philosophy is straightforward: keep everything simple and transparent, and the result in the bottle will shine. Since his grandfather took the family vines back from the cooperative in 1967 and officially founded the domaine, the vineyards have been organic and 100% chemical-free. Once Jean-Marie took over in 2000, he began the process of obtaining certification, and since 2006, the entire estate has been certified organic. All work is done by hand, and interventionist cellar tactics are kept to an absolute minimum. Only small amounts of sulfur are added during élévage. Whites are vinified in a combination of steel and ceramic cuves, and a small percentage of oak for the top cuvées. The reds are raised in neutral barrels, with the only new oak in the cellar being those purchased to replace old barrels in need of retirement. These are wines that deliver a shimmering vibrancy, elegance, while also providing a lens into an under-the-radar region that deserves a closer look, all at an excellent value. Domaine Name: Domaine Sainte-Barbe Year Founded: 1967 Winemaker: Jean-Marie Chaland First year at Domaine: 1996 Location: Viré, Montbellet et Burgy en Saône et Loire, Bourgogne Total Holdings: 8.5ha Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay Average Vine Age: 55 years Farming Practices: Organic (certified since 2006) Number of Workers: 3 Bottles produced/year: 40,000

Grapes & Style

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is one of the great white grapes of Burgundy, and one of the most widely planted wine grapes in the world. It has a long history in eastern France, especially Burgundy and Champagne, and DNA work shows it as part of the same broad Pinot and Gouais Blanc family that gave us grapes like Gamay and Aligoté. It’s adaptable, easy enough to grow in many places, and capable of producing everything from simple everyday whites to some of the most ageworthy white wines in the world.

In the vineyard, Chardonnay buds and ripens relatively early, which makes it useful in cooler climates but vulnerable to spring frost. It tends to do especially well on limestone and calcareous clay, and its relatively neutral fruit profile gives site and cellar choices a lot of room to show. Malolactic fermentation, lees aging, barrel fermentation, and oak can all shape the final wine dramatically.

In the glass, Chardonnay can be lean, saline, and citrus-driven, or broad, textured, and orchard-fruited, depending on where it’s grown and how it’s made. Chablis shows the steely, high-acid side; the Côte de Beaune shows depth, texture, and savory complexity; Champagne shows its value as a sparkling-wine base. Good Chardonnay is less about one fixed flavor than about balance, texture, and the way it carries place.