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Olivier Leflaive was co-manager of Domaine Leflaive until 1994 before withdrawing to concentrate on his own venture which he started in 1985. Today the domaine produces wine from some 65 appellations with 85% of the production being white wine. One of Burgundys most respected producers the estate produces a number of domaine wines from its own vineyards alongside its range of negocé bottlings. This Chardonnay is a wine with a fine aromatic intensity of almond, hazelnut, apple and a nice balance between smoothness and freshness on the palate.

Fourth-generation vigneron Fabien Coche took over his family’s domaine in 2005. Hailing from one of Burgundies most famed families (Coche-Dury was part of the same domaine until 1940 and is run by his cousin Raphael), Fabien has quickly become the Coche of the current generation making the most waves. His enviable vineyard holdings total nearly 11 hectares spread across Meursault, Monthelie, Pommard and Auxey-Duresses. Organic farming has been practiced here since 1998 for the 40 plots of vines that the family owns. Average vine age is impressive with more than 60% of vines over 60 years old. Les Luchets lies above the village quite high on the slope, which is where many of the younger vignerons favour for cooler more mineral wines terroir and better natural acidity.

Fourth-generation vigneron Fabien Coche took over his family’s domaine in 2005. Hailing from one of Burgundies most famed families (Coche-Dury was part of the same domaine until 1940 and is run by his cousin Raphael), Fabien has quickly become the Coche of the current generation making the most waves. His enviable vineyard holdings total nearly 11 hectares spread across Meursault, Monthelie, Pommard and Auxey-Duresses. Organic farming has been practiced here since 1998 for the 40 plots of vines that the family owns. Average vine age is impressive with more than 60% of vines over 60 years old. Les Chevalieres lies just above the village of Meursault where the slope follows at the same altitude as the premier cru’s just a little further south. Chevalieres adjoins Les Luchets which is positioned against the top part of this lieu-dit.

Whilst Chavys have been living in Puligny Montrachet for over 200 years it was not until 1986 that Gerard Chavy started to estate bottle his own wine (previously the wines were sold to negotiants). This Chardonnay by Jean-Louis Chavy is based on 20-60 year old vines. Les Tremblot, (more Puligny in character, as the soil is argileous, says Jean-Louis); Les Meix, Les Levrons (more rounded wine for there are more stones and gravel here and it is not so heavy), Corvée des Vignes and Les Reuchaux.

In the 20 years since its foundation, Radio-Coteau has developed a cult-like following among the cognoscenti of The New California. Eric Sussman, winegrower and proprietor at Radio-Coteau, lives by the tenet, “the best fertiliser is the farmer’s shadow”. With his small team he makes some of California’s most exciting, nuanced and fresh cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from a range of coastal-influenced vineyards in Western Sonoma County and the Anderson Valley. Sussman has led a storied career spanning four decades and two continents. A New York native, he studied Viticulture and Agricultural Science at Cornell University, focusing on organic viticulture. Two formative years in France followed, apprenticing at Comte Armand and Jacques Prieur in Burgundy and Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Sussman credits these seasons in France with solidifying his interest in crafting wines that speak of place, and the use of organic and biodynamic farming and low-intervention winemaking. He returned to the States in 1997, working at Bonny Doon and Dehlinger before starting Radio-Coteau in 2002, with a name that loosely translates to ‘broadcasting from the hillsides’, or more colloquially as ‘word of mouth’, a phrase that stuck with Sussman since his time in France. The Wingtine Chardonnay is named after a specialised cultivation tool, the wing tine shank. It is used by Radio-Coteau—and more broadly in the Sonoma Coast area—to cultivate their Goldridge (sandy loam) soils. Its unique design lifts and fractures the ground vertically and horizontally, reducing tractor passes while maintaining soil structure. The cuvée is sourced from both Radio-Coteau’s biodynamic estate vineyard and the Heintz Ranch Vineyard, just a stone’s throw away in Occidental. The estate vineyard’s SeaBed plot is home to several of the Wente clones, the original of which arrived from Burgundy in 1912. Described by Robert Parker as “one of the greatest Grand Cru sites for Chardonnay in California”, Heintz Ranch is an organically farmed site with mature vines (30-plus years old) and an excellent diurnal range, ensuring fruit with rich flavours and balanced acidities. Sussman believes the balance of the two parcels delivers the most striking result. The fruit was hand-harvested in late August from both sites, whole-bunch pressed, and fermented in a combination of concrete egg, stainless steel and neutral oak. Long and slow élevage on lees followed with no bâtonnage, and the wine went through full malo before being bottled without fining or filtration. Compared with Radio-Coteau’s Savoy Anderson Chardonnay, the Wingtine is the more delicate, floral and mineral-driven style (the Puligny to the Savoy Vineyard’s Meursault?). It’s a delightfully vibrant and expressive coastal Chardonnay; pure and focused, layered with orchard fruit, zesty citrus and fine texture before a classy, lingering and flint-scented finish.

Jean Noel Gagnard handed his eponymous Domaine to his daughter Caroline Lestimé in 1989. She had studied business in Paris, before returning to the village to take over the reins of the family estate, and had to handle male chauvinism at its most rampant. Nonetheless, she has followed her own convictions, and enhanced (rather than diminished) the reputation of this fine producer. In the vineyard, she uses no fertilisers or herbicides, but has not taken hold of the biodynamic bible.- James Halliday. 1er Cru Blanc la Boudriotte - Size: 0.48 ha (1.19 ac) Variety: Chardonnay Terroir: Facing southeast, 240-meters altitude, with shallow, compact clay soil Viticulture: Certified organic (biodynamic practices) Vinification: Delicate pneumatic pressing, indigenous yeast andmalolactic fermentation in barrel. Aged for 18 months on lees in 228L oak barrels (1/3 new).