Grapes: Chardonnay
Region: Burgundy, France
Vintage: 2022
Viticulture: Organic + Biodynamic practices
Soils: Stony soils + limestone
Vinification: Grapes are crushed, long (6-hour) press cycle, ambient yeast fermentation with pied de cuve
Aging: Aged 12 months in 228L to 600L barrels
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal added only if necessary during aging/before bottling
Notes from the Importer: Maison Chanterêves is the micro-négociant project of winemakers Tomoko Kuriyama and Guillaume Bott. Japanese by birth, Tomoko studied at the respected wine university in Geisenheim, Germany, becoming estate manager at the renowned Friedrich Altenkirch (once vintner to the Kaiser) in the Rheingau. In France, Tomoko and her husband Guillaume, formerly winemaker at Simon Bize, have teamed up since 2010 to craft remarkable wines from a cellar tucked under a modern house in Savigny-lès-Beaune.
The couple buys small quantities of organic grapes from various vineyards in Burgundy (and other appellations). They employ a high percentage of whole cluster fermentation and a very low dose of SO₂. These are wines full of energy but very much in the “natural wine” aesthetic: straightforward expressions, reflecting a fresh-faced purity without artifice, embellishment or pretension – sans maquillage. Wine writer Steen Öhman characterizes the wines as “made with a German precision, a Japanese attention to detail, and a French knowledge of the terroir ….” APPELLATIONS: Saint-Romain, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Volnay, Nuits-Saint-Georges
