Clotilde Davenne Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy, France 2022
Clotilde Davenne Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy, France 2022
FROM BONHOMIE:
THE WINE: 100% Chardonnay from vines planted in front of Davenne’s home and cellar in the village of Préhy. Hand-harvested, fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel.
THE PRODUCER: Clotilde Davenne, who comes from a cattle farming family, began her wine career as chief oenologist for the well-known Chablis producer Jean-Marc Brocard. After working with Brocard for 16 years she eventually began assembling her own domain, one small parcel at a time, bottling her first vintage in 2005. Today her domain is comprised of vines in Chablis, Cote d’Auxerre, St. Bris – les Vignes, and Petit Chablis. Her vines in Chablis are as old as 50 years as are her pinot noir vines in Irancy. But perhaps Clotilde’s most prized parcel is 3.5 ha of nearly 100 year old sauvignon blanc vines in St. Bris. She makes a mere 200 cases a year of this complex, intensely concentrated wine. Along with the range of wines Clotilde bottles from her estate holdings, she has access to fruit from prémier and grand cru vineyards in Chablis grown by vigneron who work to her exacting specification. In her own vines Clotilde is working naturally as possible, without the use of chemicals, and almost all of her production is harvested by hand. In the cellar all the wines undergo malolactic fermentation, a conscious decision by Clotilde, as she feels it brings greater complexity to the wines.