Great Burgundies, Great Values, From Domaine Henri Prudhon!

4/2/13 -

The limestone hills of Saint-Aubin have been planted to vines since the third century AD. They are steep, well-drained slopes with a high concentration of clay, some of which are on the south and west slopes of the Mont Rachet, around the corner from the Grand Crus. Since Chambers Street began we have been buying the beautiful Saint-Aubins of Henri Prudhon et Fils, producers of well-priced, old-fashioned wines, which are refreshingly different from over-extracted, over-oaked modern Burgundies.

The reds here tend to be light in color as the Prudhons do not believe in aggressive efforts to extract color and body. "Pinot Noir in the latitudes of Burgundy is naturally pale in color. An extraction too "pushed" - seeking to extract color - will lead to hard and bitter tannins" say the Prudhons. The whites undergo long slow fermentations, with aging sur-lee in a small percentage of new oak, leading to delicate flavors with a pronounced chalky minerality.

The Prudhon's vineyards are planted at very high density (10,000 vines per hectare) and are regularly plowed as the Prudhons seek to maximize the expression of terroir: "...our goal is not to "manufacture" wine but rather to "build" it, "develop" it." Nature carries out most of the work on the wine through the unique action of terroir on the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties, vectors for expressing the soils. Nature's action in Burgundy does not require significant interventions from man to achieve great wines. Man is essential, but nature even more so. That is the very notion of Terroir." (from the Prudhon's website) These lovely wines are among the greatest values to be found in Burgundy today - we urge you to try them, both for current drinking and cellaring.