2018 Domaine de la Sarazinière, Mâcon-Bussières “Claude Seigneuret” White Burgundy, France.
The beautiful 2018 Mâcon-Bussières Blanc “Claude Seigneuret” by Domaine de la Sarazinière highlights the vintage and the old vine concentration, while retaining a dynamic freshness that makes this a mouth watering white Burgundy that punches way above the reasonable asking price, especially considering the vines used in this single Lieu-Dit are closing in on a hundred years old. The Domaine de la Sarazinière Macon-Bussieres “Claude Seigneuret” named for the domaine owner Philippe Trébignaud’s great uncle Claude Seigneuret who planted this special plot of limestone soiled Chardonnay vines ninety four years ago, was fermented and aged in classic French oak Burgundy barrels in line with their more prestigious cousins in the Cote de Beaune. Fresh and steely this vintage gains textural quality with every sip and ends up feel luxurious and richly smooth on the medium full palate that carries itself with seriousness and grace showing pretty white flowers, white peach, green apple and pear fruits along with a touch of quince and lemon as well as wet rock and the impression of chalkiness and mouth watering saline crisp detail and lingering creaminess. This is quite impressive even for someone who’s been a fan of the winery for many vintages and sublime with food, in particular it went great with a fried chicken sandwich, but I can see an even more glorious pairing with swordfish and or crab cakes. Even the Domaine de la Sarazinière’s entry level bottling are from plots that average at least 60 year old vines, so these wines offer a lot of complexity and presence throughout the lineup, with this cuvee Claude Seigneuret being always one of my favorites!
The father and son team of Philippe and Guilaume Trébignaud are the 3rd and 4th generations Mâconnais vignerons to farm a selection of well situated parcels in the southern part of the Mâcon with a tidy collection of older vines, including some single old vine parcels of Chardonnay and Gamay that were planted in 1926. Each site, according to their importer Floraison Selections in Emeryville California, showcases a unique terroir and a soulful character. Philippe and Guilaume work with the conviction that the only way to farm is with living soils, farmed with a practical and holistic approach, these vines are regularly plowed and never treated with pesticides or herbicides, they understand their future depends on a healthy vineyard that rewards with quality grapes. The Domaine de la Sarazinière began transitioning to organic certification in 2018 and the wines just seem to be getting better and better with intense energy and purity, all of which have made their old vine Chardonnays tremendous values. The Mâconnais is one of Burgundies hot spots and far removed from the generic cheap Mâcon-Villages wines of 20 to 40 years ago, now these old vine sites, like Saint-Veran, Pouilly-Fuise and Cru Mâcon sites like this Mâcon-Bussières produce wines that easily rival those from the high rent districts in the Cote d’Or, especially and also notable are producers such as Domaine Robert-Denogent, imported by Kermit Lynch, Meursault legend Dominique Lafon’s Heritiers du Comte Lafon and Château des Rontets. This is a delicious Chardonnay and it should drink great for another 3 to 5 years with ease, Domaine de la Sarazinière should be on your white Burgundy wish list, it is a perfect time to discover this label, and you shouldn’t miss their granite soil based Mâcon-Serrières Rouge Gamay and their fun and vibrant Aligoté.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive