2013 Montrachet, Grand Cru, Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils, Burgundy

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

The Burgundian wine domaine of Bouchard Pére et Fils can trace its origins back to 1731 though it is no longer family owned. In 1995 the Champagne house, Joseph Henriot, acquired the company and quality has risen as a consequence. Today Bouchard is led by Stéphane Follin Arbelet while the wines are made by Philippe Prost who has been with the company since 1978. An impressive gravity-flow winery on the Route de Savigny, the Cuvérie St Vincent, was completed in 2005, enabling them, to process all their wines with optimum efficiency. Bouchard’s total holdings comprise 130 hectares, including 12ha of grand crus and 74ha of premier crus, which makes them the largest vineyard owners in the Côte d’Or (Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune). Bouchard have good holdings in the village of Monthélie, which lies just beyond Volnay and looks down over Meursault. The village is best known for its red wines, a little firmer in structure than Volnay and of particular interest in perfect summers when the grapes can ripen fully.