Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay 2022

The suave 2022 Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay emanates from vines from Les Chênes, a beautifully situated limestone-rich vineyard on Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. As it is grown without herbicide or pesticide, harvested manually, and vinified in new oak barrels on natural yeast, the 2022 Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay presents itself as a paragon of purity as further testimony to Gille’s acumen with Chardonnay. It sports a golden sunny color, amplifying aromatics, and superb palate appeal. A mélange of apple and citrus fruit, hazelnut, and vanilla delight the nose and palate, which makes the 2022 Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay drink well above its class. Full-bodied for Bourgogne Chardonnay, there is a lot to like now, but no need to rush. The 2022 Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay will continue to improve in bottle and provide years of drinking pleasure. For optimum enjoyment, we suggest a moderate chill (40°-45° F) and a few minutes in the glass to blossom before imbibing. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2029. Enjoy!

As a suave, sophisticated white Burgundy, Domaine Gille’s 2022 Bourgogne Chardonnay provides the ideal accompaniment to fresh fish and shellfish. Poached salmon, sole, and flounder provide tasty complements to this wine, especially when accompanied by a savory cream sauce. However, crab, scallops, and lobster offer superb companionship, too. Crab dips; scallops sautéed with butter, white wine and fresh herbs; and stuffed lobster tails, constitute perennial favorites to serve with Domaine Gille’s classic white Burgundy. For those who prefer something other than seafood, chicken and veal offer equally compelling partners. Breast of Chicken in a savory white sauce and Sautéed Veal Medallions with mushrooms and cream are two additional tried and true classics that truly shine in the company of Domaine Gille’s superb 2022 Bourgogne Chardonnay. And if good old-fashioned sipping is more to your liking, the 2022 Domaine Gille Bourgogne Chardonnay provides plenty of pleasure as an aperitif, au naturel, with nary a morsel… or as you like it. Bon appétit!

“Alone in the vegetable kingdom, the vine makes the true savor of the earth intelligible to man.” Colette (1873-1954) from Prisons et Paradis

Domaine Gille lies at the heart of Burgundy’s fabled Côte d’Or, just south of Nuits-St. Georges, in the tiny village of Comblanchien. From this prestigious commune and surrounding côtes, Domaine Gille fashions a cornucopia of illustrious red and white Burgundies from just 9 hectares (22 acres), including Côte de Nuit-Villages Réserve Comblanchien, Nuits-St. Georges, Morey-Saint Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, and a superlative Bourgogne Chardonnay (this month’s feature). Small lots of high quality wine flow from the Gille family who for generations have striven through the cultivation of the vine to make “the true savor of the earth intelligible.”

The Gille family has resided in the village of Comblanchien continuously since 1570 and are widely acknowledged to be the first family of the commune. Since its inception, the domain has been passed down from father to son and has grown over the years to its present size, due to acquisition and marriage. The present domain took shape in the early 1900s under the guidance and foresight of Vivant Gille, and today the 9-hectare domain is run by Gille’s great-grandson, Matthieu Gille.

The vines at Domaine Gille range from 45 to 90 years of age, with some family parcels dating to the late 18th century. All the work at Domaine Gilles is done by hand, following traditional methods. Monsieur Gille is fond of proclaiming that “respecting the terroir and the unique character and challenges of each vintage” are his only goals for the property. The wines of Domaine Gille are truly hand-crafted and of great personality and individuality. Moreover, they are made in the most traditional manner.

Burgundy is a wine as well as a place. In fact, it is many wines and many distinct locales, all of which were once part of the ancient duchy of Burgundy. Situated several hundred kilometers southwest of Paris, Burgundy is hallowed ground to serious lovers of the vine. From its golden hillsides, whose center slopes are so aptly named the Côte d’Or, flow France’s most expensive and profound wines. Names such as Romanée Conti, Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, and Le Montrachet, among others, have been delighting serious wine aficionados for centuries. Yet, there is much more to Burgundy and its wines than these few illustrious names. For starters, Burgundy is the ancestral of home of two of the world’s most revered grape varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Clearly, Burgundy is much more than a single wine or one great vineyard: it is a special place where dirt is destiny. Moreover, it’s a land almost entirely devoted to wine in one fashion or another. However, what remains surprising to many wine drinkers is that Burgundy wine is both red and white, and the very best emanate almost exclusively from two grapes, Chardonnay for the region’s white wines and Pinot Noir for red wines. With just a few rare exceptions, the finest Burgundies emanate from the region’s core, the Côte d’Or, which begins on the Côte de Nuits, just south of Dijon, and flows all the way to Santenay at the tip of the Côte de Beaune. The Premier and Grand Cru wines from these illustrious hillsides are worth their weight in gold, but increasingly the wines from the gentle slopes outside the privileged climats are garnering considerable attention for wines that rival the region’s more traditional favorites, and at a fraction of the cost. Salut!