2004 Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Chaumées, Clos de la Truffière, 1er Cru, Domaine Michel Niellon, Burgundy

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

Michel Niellon operates out of two absurdly small cellars in Chassagne, producing quite simply sublime wines. He has only 6 hectares of vines, which include small holdings in Chevalier and Bâtard-Montrachet. Old vines and low yields give these wines their intensity, along with Niellon`s supreme winemaking skills.