Description
Henri & Gilles Buisson, “Sous la Velle” Saint-Romain Blanc
When I first started studying Burgundy in earnest, there were certain long-established truths: The greatest expressions of Burgundy Chardonnay came from Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet—and then there were the also-rans. Today, for a number of reasons, those truths are regularly shattered. For one, there’s the reality of climate change, which has cast the cooler, out-of-the-way Saint-Romain appellation in a new light: What was once a “marginal” climate is now enjoying its place in the sun, so to speak. Further, the keys to the kingdom are no longer in the hands of a select few: Burgundy has only gotten more and more prestigious and there’s more competition than ever among vignerons to achieve greatness.
Of course, the top vineyards have proved themselves over time, and continue to do so, but what many continue to overlook are the countless lesser-known vineyards being farmed better than ever before, by vignerons every bit as talented and properly equipped as the acknowledged greats. Today’s Exhibit A is Domaine Buisson and its incandescent Chardonnay, “Sous la Velle.” Over the past decade, price points of village and Premier Cru-level cuvées from the brand-name villages (Chassagne; Puligny; Meursault) have approached the “out-of-reach” stratosphere—even for willing, passionate wine folk. If you love great Burgundy Chardonnay like I do, it’s critical that you widen your search. Today’s 2018 is an example of a conscientious, artisanal producer planting a flag in Burgundy’s limestone and shouting: “Notice me!” We sure noticed, so now it’s my turn to shout about it. This is one of those transcendent Burgundies—not for the label-chasers but the true aficionados, the ones who know a classic, mineral, age-worthy Burgundy Chardonnay when they see it.
While only a short 3-mile jaunt west of Meursault and technically part of the Cote de Beaune, Saint-Romain sits in an outlying valley just north of the primary escarpment of the Cote d’Or. Its higher altitude and less “perfect” situation originally relegated it to a lower rung on the hierarchy historically, because it was more difficult for grapes in such a position to achieve optimal ripeness. However, given the ever-escalating temperatures in Burgundy over the past 10+ years, Saint-Romain rarely suffers from ripeness issues anymore. In fact, it can offer remarkable depth and vibrancy in warmer vintages, perfectly exemplified by today’s 2018 Henri & Gilles Saint-Romain Blanc “Sous la Velle”. While conjuring a Puligny/Chassagne hybrid, this wine delivers powerful, textbook detail with refinement and depth worthy of Premier Cru status at less than half the price.
The Buisson family has been farming in Saint-Romain since the 12th century when some of the earliest plantations of vines in Burgundy were in this protected narrow valley. Estate-bottling began relatively early here, in 1947, with Henri Buisson and his wife Marguerite. Their son Gilles and his wife Monica expanded the family’s holdings and moved toward organic viticulture in the 1970s—back when such practices were seldom encountered in the Cote d’Or. Over the past decade, Gilles and Monica’s talented and dynamic sons, Fred and Franck, have gradually assumed control of the domaine. They’ve guided the vineyards to full organic certification in 2009 and maintain a precise, exacting non-interventionism in their gravity-fed winery(no pumps or machinery) employing only natural fermentations and bare minimum use of sulfur. This progressive, ecologically aware approach, matched with a stunning run of superlative whites (and reds) in recent vintages, has placed Buisson head and shoulders above all Saint-Romain growers.
On the top right side of the Saint-Romain vineyard map, in a south-east facing amphitheater, you’ll find the site of today’s wine, “Sous la Velle”. The name translated means “under the village,” and the parcel, with vine age averaging 60-years old, sits at 1,000 feet and is one of three symbolic vineyards (with “La Perriére” and “Sous le Château”) greatly contributing to the reputation of the appellation and the Buisson white wines. A sunnier parcel with a higher presence of clay packed into the limestone soils, “Sous la Velle” typically produces an earthier, broader wine than the more bracing “La Perrière,” more layered and complex than focused and soaring. Despite the fact these prime Saint-Romain sites lack the prestige-centered perspective of the premier cru classification, their power and pedigree have been endorsed by the recent lease acquisitions by a growing list of superstar Cote d’Or vignerons including Laurent Ponsot, Jean-Marc Pillot, and Benjamin Leroux to name only a few.
Once hand-harvested, the grapes are meticulously sorted in the winery and go through a spontaneous, primary fermentation in mostly neutral French oak barrels (only 10% new) of varying sizes. The wine returns to barrel after pressing to finish its secondary fermentation. It remains there for 10-12 months and is blended and gently filtered prior to bottling. The result for this sumptuous, ripe 2018 Buisson “Sous la Velle” is one of undisputed purity, weight, and depth. Following a brief decant and chilled to 55-60 degrees, aromas of mandarin, crisp Anjou pear, crushed white stone, and yellow citrus waft out of the glass. A medium-bodied palate bears white peach, yellow apple, wheat toast, and a kiss of vanilla that finishes with a dazzling citrusy minerality. My bottle showed even more layers and nuance on day two which certainly confirmed the wine’s ability to evolve over the next 4-5 years. Both elegant and vivacious, this Saint-Romain is living proof these prime sites will shatter any preconceived notions regarding their ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best Premier Crus across Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet.
