A specially-made label showing Chief and his lifelong best friend.
Our tasting impressions
We were blown away by the incredible focus of this Premier Cru from Chassagne. It's like a laser beam. The balance is great as well, which is even more impressive because this young wine has quite a protrusion of oak. In time, the lively, fresh fruit will absorb it and the result will be an amazing white Burgundy to enjoy for decades. Oh, and it's pretty damn tasty even now.
About this wine
Clos Saint Jean is a 1er Cru vineyard planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir covering a little more than 5ha. Potel's Chardonnay comes from about a .2ha plot planted on average 50 years ago. It faces east at an elevation of 280 meters in clay/limestone soil. Grapes were manually harvested on 9/14.
Following a fermentation with native yeast, the wine aged in oak barrels (1/2 new). Bottled on 3/8/21 after fining and filtering. 1,200 bottles were produced.
About the grape
Chardonnay is the most popular wine variety in the US. Winemakers love the green-skinned grape as well because it’s so easy to grow and adapt to many different production techniques. Grown everywhere, Chardonnay’s greatest expressions are widely believed to come from Burgundy. Indeed, this is believed to be where the grape originated. Chablis, in Northern Burgundy and Champagne also offer superlative examples of Chardonnay.
The 2019 vintage confirms the climatic upheaval we have known since the beginning of this century. The start of the vegetative cycle occurred early. The buds began their growth in the third week of March, exposing the vine to a high risk of spring frosts. April was very hot, allowing rapid growth of the vines. At the very beginning of June, the first flowers appeared. The summer was marked by two heat waves in mid-June and mid-July causing significant water stress. Rainfall in August allowed the vines to recover and veraison began in early August. We began harvesting on September 14 and finished on September 25. The grapes, of very high quality and maturity.
Suggested Glassware: Grassl Cru
Roche de Bellene was established in 2008 by Nicolas Potel. It is a diversified and global wine production and trading company. The company includes Domaine de Roche Bellene, which offers wines from estate owned vineyards in 10 different Côte d’Or appellations.
Maison Roche de Bellene is the company’s négociant arm. Potel and his team source grapes from respected and consistent sources throughout the Côte d’Or. All are very old vines from which Roche de Bellene produces white and red wines. Another part of the Maison operation is Collection Bellenum. In the first decade of the 2000’s, Potel began purchasing large quantities of outstanding wines from the personal cellars of 26 domaines, starting with 1959. A wine must be at least 10 years old to be included in this special collection. After extensive tasting to ensure the wines were sound and of high-quality, he offers them with his label. Some of the corks will reveal the seminal source.
Nico is the son of the legendary Volnay producer, Gerard Potel. In addition to learning “at home,” he trained at excellent estates in Australia, California and Burgundy. Potel is widely respected by his peers for his remarkable wine production talents, as well as his keen sense for sourcing grapes and wines.
