Mercurey 1er Cru “La Mission” 2020

The Domaine of Château de Chamirey, planted in the best terroirs of Mercurey, covers 95 acres of which 38 are located amongst the most renowned Premiers Crus of the appellation. domain consists in 37 hectares (27 reds, 10 whites, 15 of which are Premier Cru) reflecting the diverse soils and micro climates found within the Mercury appellation.The whites, fresh and lively and well balanced. This reaches its finest expression in the powerful Premier Cru "La Mission". Chateau de Chamirey red is true indulgence. It has a silky texture, and is very fruity typically showing the flavour of cherries. The grapes are hand harvested, then sorted out before going in vats, in order to eliminate the unmature and damaged ones. Vatting is long and divided into pre-fermenting maceration, maceration, post-fermenting maceration. The wines are then aged mostly in oak barrels (around 18 months), of which a quarter is changed every year. The Château de Chamirey team shows the highest rigour and brings an extreme attention for details, to the vines, the vinification and the ageing of the wines.

Fresh chardonnay shows bright fruity profile and strong body. Chardonnay wines usually have expressed aromatic complexity and usually it happens due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak promote notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of spices) rather than the variety's intrinsic qualities. Also, this variety can develop cream, yeast and brioche bread notes. Because of this high level of winemaker influence, Chardonnay has become famous as the "winemaker's wine".

This part of Burgundy is famous for a couple of its appellations as Roully, Mercurey, Bouseron, Givry and Montagny. Côte Chalonnaise produces the same amount of red as well as white wines which are not meant for ageing, but are very pleasant to drink - they are fruity and juicy. Some of the best samples can "live" for up to 10 years. A noteworthy white wine appellation is Bouseron that exclusively produces Aligote wines and is the only place in Burgundy that is allowed to produce it in the appellation's name. Good red wines can be found in the Roully and Givry appellations.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) can be confusing because of the multiplicity of its appellations - all the small vineyards are divided between multiple producers so it can often be difficult to understand this diversity. However, it is the exact reason why the wines of Burgundy are considered to be the finest in the world. A common topic of discussion, when talking about Burgundy, is the concept of "terroir" - a unique combination of soil and climate conditions that affects the taste of wine in the appellations, making it unique to each village. Winemakers mainly use the capricious Pinot Noir and the classical Chardonnay to create true masterpieces, while Gamay and Aligote are used to make wines of a bit simpler style. Particular attention should be paid to the hierarchy of wines. First there are the regional and village wines, a step higher - the Premier Cru wines and the outstanding Grand Cru - at the top. Due the complex and inconsistent weather that can notably impact wine quality especially in bad harvest years, a very important factor here is the so called millesime - the harvest year of the grapes the particular wine is produced of, because each of these years has its own unique taste. Purchasing Burgundy wines is not easy because there are many details that should be taken into consideration - the class of the vineyard, the assessment of the manufacturer, the age of the vines, the quality of the wine as well as the millesime and, of course, the potential of ageing. The sellers play a big role here - they must be truly passionate about wine and able to offer only the best quality producers with a good reputation. That is exactly the way "Noble Wine" works!