Its adaptability to different soils and climates, and malleability in the wine room make Chardonnay one of the most popular and ubiquitous grapes. Responsible for some of the world’s most thrilling white wines wines including Champagne, it is in its homeland of Burgundy with villages such as Chablis, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet that producers craft arguably some of the world’s finest wines. Chardonnay is also synonymous with California, where it can display riper, tropical fruit flavors, rather than the more restrained stone fruit and steely, mineral qualities often associated with its Old World and cool climate counterparts. While there are terrific fresh and vibrant Chardonnays made solely using stainless steel, the grape also knits terrifically well with oak, lending greater depth and weight in the form of a nutty, toasty and somtimes buttery component.
Two hundred miles south east of Paris lies the famous and historic wine region, known in French as Bourgogne. The Cote d'Or, the heartland of the region, consists of two distinct sub-regions split on either side of the town of Beaune.The Côte de Nuits to the north, includes the famous villages of Vosne-Romanee, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Nuits-Saint-Georges and are known primarily for making red wine from Pinot Noir.Although The Côte de Beaune to the south still makes some magnificent reds (see Volnay and Pommard), white wine made from Chardonnay is the main focus. The most famous villages are Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. Burgundy has three other important regions. The village of Chablis (exclusively Chardonnay) encompassing the region's most northerly vineyards. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais to south are quantitatively speaking more important. Agriculture is more diverse with a significant portion of the land devoted to livestock and arable farming.
Chassagne is the most southerly of the famous trio of great white wine communes (below Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet) in the Cote de Beaune district of Burgundy. Historically Pinot Noir was the predominant variety in the vineyards, however simple economics has dictated that with a premium paid for white Chassagne, it is Chardonnay that is grown. Given the consistent excellence of the villages white wine this change is not without its merit . Straddling the Puligny-Chassagne village boundary at the north are two of the world's most famous vineyards, Le Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet. In addition the village also has the whole of Les Croits, an extension of the grand cru Batard-Montrachet vineyard. With 370 hectares under vines it is one of the largest villages in the Cote d'Or and has a record 51 premier cru vineyards. And while premier crus such as Les Chenevottes and Clos-Saint-Jean located close to the grand crus perform exceptionally well, the more southerly vineyards - la Maltroie and Morgeot - do not dissapoint. The village's wines are similar to Puligny, perhaps less minerally angular but nevertheless full and firm and more perceptable acidity than Meursault.
