Joseph Drouhin Macon-Villages

Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Producer: Joseph Drouhin
Grape variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Found at: Willow Park Wines and Spirits  (or see Liquor Connect and enter your postal code)
Price: $17.99

About the region: Although Chardonnay is grown all over the world today, its roots lie in Burgundy. And since the grape variety is named after a village in the Maconnais (one of Burgundy’s sub-regions), let’s visit that region this week. Added benefit: white Burgundy from the Maconnais is considerably cheaper than those from the more famous subregions to its North (such as Meursault). 43 villages in the Maconnais qualify to label their wines as “Macon-Villages”, which generally provide somewhat more complexity, ripeness, and character compared to those labeled as the more generic “Macon”. Chardonnay is a non-aromatic grape variety, which implies that it doesn’t have a very pronounced fruit character: to explore this for yourself, stick your nose in a glass of Chardonnay and then in a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling and you’ll find that the latter have a much more pronounced, fruity smell. Because it’s non-aromatic, the wine’s character is determined to a large the degree by where the vineyard is situated and choices made by the winemaker (e.g., the use of oak vs. no oak).

About the wine: Maison Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest producers in Burgundy. They own vineyards all over Burgundy (including parcels in several famous vineyards), as well as source grapes from other growers. They’ve been around for 130 years and are currently run by the fourth generation of the Drouhin family. Their Macon-Villages is made from grapes bought from other growers. After fermentation, the wine is aged in stainless steel for 6 to 8 months. thereby retaining its riper fruit characteristics.

Apple and melon notes dominate on the nose, combined with some subtle straw notes. On the palate there is above-average acidity, the apple and melon notes make a recurrence, as well as some lemon peel and minerality.

In Susanne’s words: Apple-y; tastes gooood.