From: Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Taste: This HCN Blanc is bombastic when first poured. Initially, you’ll experience some crazy tropical fruit notes, like pineapple upside-down cake, mango, and passionfruit. This tones down with time exposure to oxygen and settles into nuanced flavors of intermingled lemon and orange zest, Taylor’s Gold pear, juicy yellow apple, and spiced/nutty notes, including cashew, cinnamon, and cedar. The palate mostly follows the aromas in this wine, but a notable difference is that the palate is much fresher than the nose would initially indicate. This rich, “generous, yet lithe” white wine will continue to open fantastically and is a treat to enjoy slowly, an experience to savor.
Pairing: I recommend going for richer pairing options with this wine. Mochiko or American fried chicken, teriyaki chicken, sweet and sour chicken or pork, fried rice, and
Crab Rangoon is a great pairing idea with sweet chili dipping sauce. Other options include butternut squash ravioli, mushroom ragout as mushroom bourguignon or over polenta, fried chicken wings, and roasted pork with peanut sauce (check out the satay recipe below).
Pork Satay With Thai Spices and Peanut Sauce
By David Tanis
About. Domaine Lécheneaut was founded in the late 1950s with two and a half hectares of vineyards, divided among the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, and Morey-Saint-Denis. In 1986, brothers Philippe and Vincent Lécheneaut took over operations from their father Fernand. Over the next few years, they converted all of their vineyards to organic farming, updated their cellar, and expanded their holdings to include additional vineyards in Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. New parcels, including some Premiers Crus, were later acquired in Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin. The illustrious Premier Crus of Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Pruliers” and “le Clos des Ormes” in Morey-Saint-Denis were the next remarkable additions to the Domaine. Today, the Lécheneauts tend to around 30 acres of vines in 23 appellations across the Côtes de Nuits.
They continuously pursue qualitative progression, staying abreast of the most efficient equipment, all while preserving the traditional and family character of their domain. In recent years, Vincent’s son Jules has joined the team after his experience working in wineries abroad in Oregon.
Winemakers from across the horizons agree on one primordial point: an excellent wine comes from a top-quality grape. To this end, Domaine Lecheneaut has rigorously applied sustainable agriculture and made technical choices guided by nature and the environment. Yields are limited, and organic products have been used to fight against parasites and diseases of the vines since 2000. The grapes are harvested at the optimal maturity and are carefully selected and sorted to guarantee their ideal condition when it is time to place them into the vats.
Fast Facts on this Wine
Total Surface: 8 ouvrés (1 ouvrée = 4 ares 28)
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Average Age of the Vines : 25 years old
Nature of the Soil: Situated on a hillside facing south at about 350 meters, the vines cover the sloping valley cutting through the Jurassic chalky plateau west of the “Côte.” The substrate is identical to the vine-covered hillside, but the surface formations are very thin, sometimes non-existent. The chalky-clay soils result from the alteration of the limestone and marls substrate.
Harvesting: Manual only
Average Production: Around 2100 bottles.
