2024 Maison Champy, Pernand-Vergelesse, White Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France.
The impressively poised, aromatic and mineral intense, pale straw/gold hued 2024 Champy Pernand-Vergelesse Blanc is a lovely Chardonnay with loads of terroir character, lively energy, crystalline focus and layered with lemon, apple, peach and crisp Bosc pear fruits and opulent leesy notes, wet chalk, white acacia flowers, sweet clove spice and soft oak toast. This stony medium bodied White Burgundy was sourced from mature organic vines set on Pernand-Vergelesse’s clay and limestone with all the grapes being hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard, with fermentation done with native yeasts and saw barrel aging. The Chardonnays at Champy see about 30% new wood and this one was in oak for an elevage of 12 months, which has allowed a wonderful balance and harmonious integration of concentration and depth along with the lift of acidity and the strong mineral currents here. I sampled this bottle in New York and have been lucky enough to try through most of the lineup in the past couple of years, finding Champy a quality Burgundy label, from the sublime value Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge to their impressive Premier Cru offerings, with the whites being personal favorites, like this one. I went through the collection from Maison Champy in San Francisco, Chicago and in New York this year and was treated to selection of wines that showed clarity and purity of place, again with elegance and charm throughout.
The Maison Champy was originally established in 1720 by Edmé Champy, and is now operating as the oldest house in Burgundy, with the better part of three centuries the Champy’s and their heirs here have been, as their importer Massanois says, instrumental in building the international reputation of Burgundy and promoting the classic French Savoir Faire. The winery notes that Champy’s story is interwoven with some of the most important French historical figures of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Louis Pasteur and Gustave Eiffel, and many well known figures in the modern world also enjoy the wines here. Maison Champy owns 21 hectares of prime vineyards, which are farmed certified organic and spread across the Côte d’Or, proving high quality fruit throughout the range of offerings here. The winery and its 15th century cellars are located in Beaune, the pumping heart of the Burgundy region and its cultural center. Champy’s core plots are found on the hill of Corton, Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune, and Pernand-Vergelesses, all within the greater Côte de Beaune, where some of the finest Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir vines are found dug into hardened clay and chalky limestone hillsides. A big thank you to Champy and Massanois, who shared this bottle with me at a fabulous dinner at New York’s Lavagna Restaurant, along with an outstanding meal, that ranks as one of my top experiences this year on the road. This village Pernand-Vergelesse Bourgogne Blanc is out there on the market, but I would also suggest finding the 2020 and 2022 lieu-dix bottlings, which are even more complex and rewarding at this stage!
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive