Domaine Bachey-Legros Bourgogne Blanc 'Saint Martin' 2021

Description

Domaine Bachey-Legros Bourgogne Blanc ‘Saint Martin’ 2021 was the highlight of one of my summer 2023 tastings.  I have stocked some of Domaine Bachey-Legros’ red wines over the years including regular customer favourite, Santenay Clos des Hates, but hadn’t really paid attention to their Chardonnay until now. Domaine Bachey-Legros Bourgogne Blanc ‘Saint Martin’ 2021 is quite rich and intense in style given that it is produced from old vine Chardonnay grapes. It also comes from a single vineyard, St Martin, and Bachey-Legros have chosen to add that to the label of this Bourgogne Blanc because they consider that vineyard to be worthy of its own vineyard appellation. I tend to agree as this white Burgundy is beautiful.

Quite creamy in texture, Bachey-Legros Bourgogne Blanc Sainet Martin will develop more creaminess as it spends longer in bottle. If a little closed on the nose or palate initially, let the wine breathe for a few minutes to open up its apple and pear character with citrus fruits. The fruit flavours combine beautifully with a buttery creaminess. This is a very smooth and elegant wine with good structure and a very tasty finish. Beautiful and very classy.

One of the reasons for the beauty and complexity of Bachey-Legros wines is its old vines which are low-yielding, concentrating all their goodness in fewer grapes. According to the Domaine “compared to a young and vigorous vine that needs keeping under control, an old vine gracefully produces berries of extraordinary concentration, imbued with a goût du terroir which its roots have extracted from the very depths of the soil. The fruit is itself small – rich in sugars and highly concentrated.” Their vines were planted for the most part between 1935 and 1955. Terroir-focused, elegant wines are their forte and Domaine Bachey-Legros Bourgogne ‘Saint Martin’ 2021 is no exception. This family-owned wine estate goes back six generations and now totals about 18 hectares of some of the best plots in Santenay, Chassagne-Montrachet and Maranges.