Domaine Valette Mâcon-Chaintré Vieilles Vignes 2022
Domaine Valette
Domaine Valette's old-vine Chardonnay from Chaintré is one of the Mâconnais' best-kept secrets. The 2022 captures ripe fruit and textural richness while maintaining the nervous energy that separates great white Burgundy from merely good. At this price, it embarrasses bottles costing three times as much.
Nose
Opens with ripe green apple and white peach, followed by toasted almond and a gentle honeyed richness. A subtle mineral note — crushed limestone — sits beneath the fruit, adding tension.
Palate
Generous but not heavy, with citrus and melon on entry giving way to a buttery mid-palate and a core of marzipan-like nuttiness. Excellent acidity keeps everything taut and prevents the richness from becoming cloying.
Finish
Medium-long, with lingering citrus, a touch of woody spice, and a clean mineral close.
- Varietal
- Chardonnay
- Blend
- 100% Chardonnay
- Vineyards
- Vieilles Vignes (50+ year old vines) in Chaintré, limestone-clay soils
- Alcohol
- 13%
- Organic / Biodynamic
- No
- Skin Contact
- No
Food Pairing
Pan-roasted halibut with a classic beurre blanc sauce, served alongside haricots verts and crushed fingerling potatoes. The wine's buttery richness meets the sauce's unctuousness, while its acidity cuts through the fat.
Gérard Valette has worked his family's old-vine plots in Chaintré since the 1990s, farming biodynamically and using extended lees aging to create age-worthy Mâconnais whites that rival the best of the Côte de Beaune.
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