Jean-Claude Rateau Beaune Clos des Mariage Blanc 2017

$111.00

Jean-Claude Rateau Beaune Clos des Mariage is Chardonnay with Pinot Beurot. It is definitely still Burgundy. But the nose is so different too.

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Jean-Claude Rateau Beaune Clos des Mariage is Chardonnay with Pinot Beurot (the precursor to Pinot Gris according to JC). I doubt many of you have tried a wine like this. It is definitely still Burgundy. But the nose is so different too. It is more exotic and vibrant, especially straight after the Haute Cotes Blanc. The palate is rich and inviting. A wine you can drink now. I love it. I am curious how this wine will evolve over time too. It is also fascinating to try it with the Jean-Claude Rateau Beaune Mariage Rouge as a comparison of wine plot making both red and white wine.

Do you know the wines Of Jean-Claude Rateau? As a fellow Burgundy lover, I’m suggesting you get to know them soon. It was my privilege to meet and talk with Jean-Claude Rateau. Despite him having my words translated to French and his reply translated back to English it is obvious he is a smart and fun man. Jean-Claude Rateau is the first Burgundian to work commercial vines biodynamically. His parcel of Clos des Mariages is the first biodynamic plot in Burgundy starting is 1979. Jean-Claude took over 1 hectare from his family.  Now he has 8.5 hectares and makes 14 different wines.

Jean-Claude informed me that Burgundy was rarely a single variety. Field blends were the norm until phylloxera. He has planted Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Beurrot, and Pinot Noir in his vineyards. Some wines are single variety and some are blends.

With such pure and healthy fruit, Jean-Claude only needs to nurture grape juice into wine. If the vintage allows, Jean-Claude makes use of the stems. There is no new oak; all barrels are 3-10 years of age. The wine sits on lees until bottling time. There is minimal use of sulphur. Fining and filtration are only done if necessary.

Jean-Claude’s wines are pure and expressive. They jump out of the glass and evolve with time. The wines featuring some of the “alternative” varieties are obviously different but also still very Burgundian. The wines will improve with age, but being mostly from Beaune, you don’t need to wait 15 years. 4-7 is a good start.

Beaune

Historically an important trading town with large vineyard area. Beaune has numerous (!) Premier Cru sites but not one Grand Cru. There are a handful of sites and producers that are irresistible and for that reason, don’t write off Beaune. Most of the wines are sturdy if a bit clumsy at times. Often soft and pretty style with mid-term aging potential. They can represent great value for this reason.

Burgundy

The classic part of Burgundy known as the Cote d’Or (the slope of gold) is essentially one vineyard that is 60km long and maybe 5km at its widest. From this limestone ridge, some of the most complex, long-lived and aromatic wines are produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cistercian monks who owned the land codified the entire region and so each small plot has a name.

Chardonnay 

The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnay can range from cool-climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring as can malolactic fermentation.

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