Domaine Perraud
La Grande Burette | Mâconnais | BurgundyWhen we first visited the Mâconnais so many decades ago, we knew this was the mother lode. With the valley of Vergisson as its center, this region was teeming with forward-thinking winemakers, exceptional vineyards and expressive wines being offered for a mere fraction of the cost of Côte d’Or bottles.
From the commune of La Roche Vineuse, one of the Mâconnais’ more qualitatively excellent sites, winemaker Thomas Perraud of Domaine Perraud de la Grande Burette selects only older-vine fruit for our special and exclusive white Burgundy wine. This overachieving Mâcon-Villages hits all the white Burgundy sweet spots—succulent fruit, a tangy minerality from the vineyard’s chalky soils, balanced alcohol and a price point that for the quality, seems criminal.
This is value Chardonnay with serious soul, a high-quality blanc from one of France’s finest white-wine regions that will seduce and astound those who claim allegiance to Côte de Beaune whites.
“For wine lovers who enjoy Chardonnay for its minerality and its ability to convey nuances of soil and site—rather than simply for its capacity to carry new oak past the blood-brain barrier—there is no better source of wine today than the Mâconnais, especially if price is an issue.”—Stephen Tanzer
FARMING & WINEMAKING
The Perraud family selects older-vine fruit from a series of hillside vineyards in the commune of La Roche Vineuse, from a lieu-dit called ‘La Grande Burette,’ one of the region’s top appellations and terroirs. Soils here are very chalky, which gives the wine its lacy textural quality and tangy, sea-salt finish.
Grapes are pressed whole-cluster and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged in both tank and older French oak barrels (less than 10%) on fine lees. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Mâcon-Villages Vieilles Vignes
The wine’s herbal and wildflower aromas remind of Puligny-Montrachet, while flavors of honeyed pear butter mix with candied citrus and Asian pears. One of the better values in white Burgundy you can find.
- Download fact sheet (PDF)
Established: 1951
Winemaker: Thomas Perraud
Region: France • Burgundy • Mâconnais • La Grande Burette
Vineyard size: 12 acres
PRACTICING SUSTAINABLE FARMING
