Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay 2021

Elegant and subtly complex, the 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay embodies the true character of the Chardonnay varietal. It is light on its feet, yet full of flavor. This bright, sun-splashed Chardonnay regales with finesse and purity, beginning with an entrancing bouquet of spring flowers including acacia, forsythia, and apple blossoms. In the mouth, the wine’s seductive bouquet continues, offering pure fruit flavors in the form of apple and honeysuckle along with a superb texture that borders on creamy before it exits with a delightfully dry mineral-driven finish. Already a crowd pleaser, the 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay should continue to improve in bottle and offer superb drinking for several years. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest only moderate chilling (40º-45º F) of the 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay and a few minutes of aeration in order to capture all of this young white burgundy’s elegance and complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2027. Enjoy!

Although the delicious 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay makes a splendid aperitif, it shines equally in the company of poultry, shellfish, and fruits of the sea. Pan-seared scallops constitute a perennial favorite pairing with this Chardonnay. Crab, shrimp, prawns, and lobster make fine partners, too, as do mussels sautéed in a cream sauce infused with saffron. Baked, grilled, or poached sole and sea bass also pair beautifully with the elegant 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay. For those who eschew the fruits of the sea, there is chicken fricassee, light pastas, and salads. However, the glory of a fine white burgundy Chardonnay is its ability to shine unadorned, so as you like it. Whatever you decide, you may want to be prepared and have a second bottle on hand. This is the rare Chardonnay that gained unanimous approval from our panel and made each panel member’s list of favorites. Bon appétit!

Château du Cray is a historic 22-hectare estate in Burgundy’s fabled Côte Chalonnaise. The Goichot family, longtime Burgundian winegrowers, took over this renowned property and its medieval castle in 2016 from the Perret du Cray family who had acquired the property in 1798. Three generations of the Goichot family now tend Château du Cray’s vineyards. The estate’s vines wind around the castle, which is located in the middle of a hillside, all with east to south-east exposure.

Château du Cray produces a number of enviable Côte Chalonnaise white and red burgundies from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines respectively, including this month’s feature, the 2021 Château du Cray Clos du Château Bourgogne Chardonnay. The domaine’s vineyards grow on the Côte Chalonnaise’s unique limestone-clay soils. The resulting wines constitute an enviable number of Burgundy’s most traditional and affordable treasures.

The Côte Chalonnaise remains the least known of Burgundy’s wine regions, but this sequestered set of low hills and tiny villages has begun to garner considerable attention and great acclaim for its wines. In the last two decades, the Côte Chalonnaise has become the source of many unexpected pleasures and a veritable treasure trove of beautiful wines at prices below those of its Burgundian neighbors. Situated to the east of the sleepy little town of Chalon-sur-Saône, from which the region inherits its name, the Côte Chalonnaise is for all intents and purposes a continuation of the fabled Côte de Beaune that lies just to the north.

As is the case throughout Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir comprise the predominant grape varieties on the Côte Chalonnaise, with allowance made for small amounts of Pinot Blanc for the region’s white wines and Pinot Liebault and Pinot Beurot for its reds. The latter two Pinots are nearly identical to Pinot Noir. Four important communes dominate the region: Givry, Mercurey, Montagny, and Rully – all bona fide Burgundy appellations in their own right. In Givry and Mercurey, the emphasis is on the production of good to excellent red wines, as Pinot Noir reigns supreme in their vineyards. Meanwhile, Rully and Montagny specialize in fashioning elegant, delicious white burgundies from Chardonnay grapes. The tiny town of Buxy is part of the Montagny appellation, which fashions wines that compete with many of the more renowned white burgundies of the Côte de Beaune, where wines of comparable quality cost two, three, and four times the price. The wines of the Côte Chalonnaise that are grown just outside the boundaries of the four major communes or exceed the legal production for their respective communes are sold as Bourgogne Blanc (Chardonnay) and Bourgogne Rouge, yet they, too, constitute many of Burgundy’s best values and unexpected pleasures. Enjoy!