From: Auxey-Duresses, Côte D'Or, Burgundy
Varietal: Chardonnay

Tasting Notes and Critical Acclaim: 91 Burghound
88-91 This is aromatically cooler still with its array of apple, pear, lemon-lime and iodine hints. The succulent but notably more intense medium weight flavors also flash evident minerality on the youthfully austere finale that also exhibits a touch of austere on the more complex finale.

Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
Pretty and pure clean lemon colour. The bouquet is quite stylish too, much more classic than the Monthelie. Builds very well to the back of the palate, with excellent tension. Drink from 2024-2028. Tasted: October 2022.

Pairing: Lively, youthful, and energetic, this 2021 Auxey-Duresses blanc from Jean-Philippe Fichet would be fantastic alongside white fish or light poultry dishes that incorporate flavors like garlic and ginger or leeks and olives (check out one such example below). Other pairing ideas include serving this with grilled or sautéed prawns/shrimp, poached salmon, and cheeses in the Gruyère family served at room temperature. 

Miso Chicken in Ginger, Leek and Scallion Broth
By David Tanis

About. Perhaps more than any of his peers, Fichet is testing the limits of transparency, to find the very soul of Meursault’s terroirs. It was Meursault’s destiny to have its soils revealed in this way: their intense stoniness is magnified by an exceptionally low water table, forcing the vines’ roots deep underground. Even if uneconomical, Fichet would rather produce a very small amount of wine from his best sites than to lose their unique character in a blend. Fichet has flown largely under the world’s radar. He began as a grower in 1981 but was forced to rebuild his domaine from scratch in the 1990s, having lost all his best fruit sources—including a piece of Meursault-Perrières—for lack of long-term contracts. But he learned from this experience. By 2000, he had used carefully negotiated long-term fermage and mètayage agreements to create an extraordinary new domaine, brimming with exceptional sites. Fichet’s methods reflect his philosophy: he is famously meticulous and abhors taking short cuts. His low yields, the foremost key to quality, are achieved through severe winter pruning rather than by green harvesting. And he believes his wines’ expressiveness is enhanced through a patient 18-month élevage, with little new oak and by avoiding aggressive lees stirring.