Mâcon-Chardonnay, Les Beluses 2020, Domaine Vuillemez

Enjoy a fresh and powerful Chardonnay with an excellent backbone and beautiful length from the top year 2020. This wine, a beautiful showcase of the best that the Mâconnais has to offer without the name Pouilly-Fuissé on it, matures in equal parts in new wooden barrels and concrete eggs. The wood touch gives structure and weight without making it feel too heavy, making it perfect for sunny situations. With great concentration, the aroma reveals freshness and complexity - a lively attack of fresh lemons and green apple with hints of apricot and pineapple, combined with minerality and spiciness (hay, bergamot, green tea, musk, laurel). It ends with a creamy buttery finish, which remains fresh and clean. Without a doubt the best of the Mâcon- appellations and the price fully reflects the quality.

This wine is perfect to combine with white and green asparagus, salads with grilled aubergines, sweet potato or spicy goat cheese, poke bowls, sushi, oysters, mussels, (vegetable) tempura, fruits de mer or various types of white fish. Rice dishes also go well with the green tea element of this wine.

The grapes come from the vineyard called "Les Béluses," a so-called lieu-dit, an old cadastral name for a plot where the oldest vines of the domain grow. The maturation in equal parts of new wooden barrels and concrete eggs beautifully structures the character, adding both freshness and a sense of luxury.

The egg-shaped stone barrels, known as "d'œufs en béton" promote the natural movement of the lees and keep them in suspension during vinification. Unlike manually stirring the lees, also known as ''Bâtonnage,'' this method preserves freshness and purity without losing flavor.