2021 Mâcon-Chardonnay, Le Berceau, Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot, 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.

Jean-Marc Boillot is a grandson of Etienne Sauzet, and was previously winemaker for Olivier Leflaive. With that mixture of winemaking pedigree and experience it comes as no surprise that Jean-Marc Boillot makes sensational wines. He is one of those rare commodities in Burgundy, a winemaker who produces both red and white wines of the highest quality. Now assisted by daughter Lydie and son Benjamin, Jean-Marc Boillot set up his own domaine in 1985. He started with some rented vines in Pommard, adding Volnay and Pommard from his grandfather’s side in 1988 and the whites, a one-third share of Domaine Etienne Sauzet, from his grandmother in 1991. Including generic burgundy, the domaine now exploits 11 hectares, five red and six white, with the same volume again in négociant cuvées of white wines, especially from the Côte Chalonnaise.