As often as we wax lyrical about the bracing, mineral, and briney Chardonnays of cool-climate Chablis, what about those from Burgundy’s southern realm, the Mâconnais? Like Chablis, this corner of the region is also devoted to Chardonnay above all else, but it shines a light on a different side of the grape, unique in Burgundy for its generosity and lusciousness. The extroverted blancs of the Mâconnais mirror the exuberance of charming reds from neighboring Beaujolais, and in fact it was in Beaujolais that Kermit first met Henri, as he wrote in 1990: 

A few years ago I was having lunch alone near Fleurie in one of those working man’s bench-and-long-table type restaurants. I struck up a conversation with the young man seated across from me. He was from the Mâconnais and, it turned out, awaiting his first grape harvest. Previously his father sold the crop to the local cave cooperative, but Henri, the son, was going to vinify and bottle it himself. I jotted down his address and visited him the following year to taste and consequently buy his wine.

Henri Perrusset handed the reigns of his domaine to the young and talented Nicolas Roux in 2021, but this scene still captures the domaine’s Mâcon-Villages perfectly. As approachable, convivial, unpretentious as the Fleurie restaurant, this is Chardonnay at its most easy-going and crowd-pleasing. Ripe orchard fruit and citrus abound in your glass, but there’s still a light mineral spine and refreshing acidity that balance things out. Serve it at your next clam bake, crab boil, or the next time you find yourself seated on a bench at a long table with people you may or may not know. Everyone will love the Mâcon-Villages.