2019 Vin de France Muscatellu “Morta Maió” Non MutéAntoine-Marie Arena
France | Corsica
$57
Producers
Bryant Vallejo's Pick My ideal situation is to devour fresh Dungeness crab smothered in garlic butter with lots of herbs sprinkled on top, and pair that with the intense stoniness of this crisp, racy, mineral-driven Chablis. Try the Savary Hommage, I am telling you, a perfect match!
I admittedly felt a bit skeptical upon hearing of this brand-new Chablis from Domaine Savary. When you already produce stunning wines from two esteemed premiers crus, plus a show-stopping old-vine bottling, why add another? The Savarys assert that this cuvée “gives another style of Chablis, conveying a more saline, iodized minerality that recalls the Chablisien geology and its little oyster shells, Exogyra Virgula.” Indeed, its character stands apart from their other wines: it smells just like the ocean, with a sea-mist freshness to more than satisfy that itch in the back of your throat—the dry feeling that can only be satiated by something bracingly cold and crisp.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Chablis |
Country: | France |
Region: | Burgundy |
Producer: | Domaine Savary |
Winemaker: | Olivier Savary |
Vineyard: | 2 ha, planted in 1980 |
Soil: | Kimmeridgian Limestone |
Farming: | Traditional |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
Domaine Savary France | Burgundy | Chablis
Domaine Savary France | Burgundy | Bourgogne Epineuil
Domaine Savary France | Burgundy | Chablis
Olivier Savary France | Burgundy | Burgundy
Domaine Taupenot-Merme France | Burgundy | Mazoyères Chambertin
In eastern central France, Burgundy is nestled between the wine regions of Champagne to the north, the Jura to the east, the Loire to the west, and the Rhône to the south. This is the terroir par excellence for producing world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The southeast-facing hillside between Dijon in the north and Maranges in the south is known as the Côte d’Or or “golden slope.” The Côte d’Or comprises two main sections, both composed of limestone and clay soils: the Côte de Nuits in the northern sector, and the Côte de Beaune in the south. Both areas produce magnificent whites and reds, although the Côte de Beaune produces more white wine and the Côte de Nuits more red.
Chablis is Burgundy’s northern outpost, known for its flinty and age-worthy Chardonnays planted in Kimmeridgian limestone on an ancient seabed. Vézelay is a smaller area south of Chablis with similar qualities, although the limestone there is not Kimmeridgian.
To the south of the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise extends from Chagny on its northern end, down past Chalon-sur-Saône and encompasses the appellations of Bouzeron in the north, followed by Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny.
Directly south of the Chalonnaise begins the Côte Mâconnais, which extends south past Mâcon to the hamlets of Fuissé, Vinzelles, Chaintré, and Saint-Véran. The Mâconnais is prime Chardonnay country and contains an incredible diversity of soils.
Domaine Follin-Arbelet France | Burgundy | Aloxe-Corton
Domaine de Villaine France | Burgundy | Côte Chalonnaise
Domaine Méo-Camuzet France | Burgundy | Clos de Vougeot
Domaine Roland Lavantureux France | Burgundy | Chablis
Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils France | Burgundy | Volnay
Jean-Claude Regnaudot et Fils France | Burgundy | Maranges
Domaine Taupenot-Merme France | Burgundy | Saint-Romain
Domaine Taupenot-Merme France | Burgundy | Charmes Chambertin
Domaine de la Cadette France | Burgundy | Bourgogne
Domaine Larue France | Burgundy | Blagny
Santini Collective France | Burgundy | Mâcon-Villages
Domaine Boillot France | Burgundy | Gevrey-Chambertin
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
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