Domaine Sainte Madeleine

Ze gaan voor het beste, insteek (deels al gecertificeerd ) is bio, zo natuurlijk, spontaan mogelijk. Veelbelovende eerste wijnen die we graag met u willen delen, herinnert u zich debuut (2006) van Thomas Pico nog? 2023 Bourgogne Blanc La Côte de Chauffour. Herplant in 2016 van 100 jaar verlaten helling, ooit beschouwd als een van de beste van dorp, moet zich eerst bewijzen om vézelay te worden, nu slechts bourgogne blanc. Open, floraal, honing, fijn botertje, goed rijk, mals, nu al heerlijk, denk aan mâcon of pouilly-fuissé. 2023 Vézelay Les Saulniers 35 jaar oude stokken, op 1er cru-waardige noordwest helling, klei met Jurakalk. Rond en zacht, crémeux bijna, vleugje hout maar ook verticale zuren, gekonfijt fruit en (inderdaad) lengte 1er cru (chablis). Op naar de top.

Among the newest generation of winegrowers in Vézelay are Alexandre and Blandine Corguillé. Alexandre is descended from generations of farmers in Seine-et-Marne, but when he worked a harvest in Champagne as a teenager, he instantly knew he wanted to become a viticulturalist. While working in Provence and Bandol while raising a young family with Blandine, he decided to start his own project and be closer to family. Since Blandine was born and raised in Burgundy, they searched for a suitable place to settle, and a chance posting about a parcel for sale in Vézelay led to the creation of Domaine Sainte Madeleine.

In 2016, Alexandre and Blandine purchased a 4-hectare, south-eastern facing coteau from the Diocese of Sens-Auxerre. Named Côte de Chauffour, Alexandre and Blandine began replanting Chardonnay soon after moving nearby. By the end of 2016, they acquired an additional 1.20 hectares of 30-year-old Chardonnay in Asquins, followed by the purchase of 1.07 hectares of Chardonnay in Les Saulniers in the village of Sainte-Père. With an additional 5.1 hectares of land in the process of being planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the remaining 3 hectares of fallow land in Côte de Chaffour, Domaine Sainte Madeleine will gradually increase to 12 hectares of vineyards over subsequent vintages. For his Chardonnay plantings, Alexandre uses 50% clones and 50% selection massale from a grower in Savoie, who was recommended to him by Domaine Raveneau. By the end of 2023, the entire estate will be certified organic.

Alexandre makes a village Vélelay and small releases of Vézelay Les Saulniers, Bourgogne Blanc Côte Chauffour, and two wines from Le Clos – a Vézelay Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge. While the vines in Côte Chauffour remain young, and there has been a century-long gap since wine was last made from this site, it is widely recognized as one of Vélelay’s top terroirs, but for now, it is labeled Bourgogne Blanc while it awaits its recognition first as a Vézelay Village designation. Eventually, Alexandre expects both Côte Chauffour and Les Saulniers to be granted 1er crus status alongside other exceptional lieux-dits in Vézelay. Alexandre oversees all aspects of the work at Domaine Sainte Madeleine, from planting to bottling. Initially, the wines were made at the Cave Cooperative, but now he leases space from Domaine de la Cadette while searching for a permanent home for his cellar. Harvest is manual, and the fruit sees a rigorous selection before the whole clusters are gently pressed into stainless steel tanks. Fermentations are spontaneous, and malo occurs naturally the following Spring. Once he is in his own cellar, Alexandre intends to add French oak aging for part of his wines with a preference for larger, more neutral French barrels.

His first releases were uncanny in their uniquely expressive sense of place while conversing with the rest of Burgundy. They have a sense of a classically ripe Chablis but a density of fruit of a Maranges made by top-flight Chassagne or Puligny-based property. They have the easy charm of a Mâcon but with much more drive and focus. Over the span of a few years, Alexandre and Blandine have accomplished something that takes others a lifetime to achieve – capturing everything thrilling about Burgundy in each of their wines.

Bron: European Cellars