A serious Burgundy red house, with a little chardonnay secret, so small it’s not mentioned much and is $43 today.

Up on a plateau above Premeaux-Prissey, on the hill behind the domaine, sits a little plot of Chardonnay. Just over an acre. About 1,000 to 1,300 feet up, facing east. Every grape is estate grown and picked by hand.

And the dirt? Limestone..well mostly limestone, with a little clay mixed in. Chardonnay loves limestone. It’s the same kind of ground that sits under Burgundy’s most famous whites.

And the year? 2022, which Wine Spectator ranked among the best white Burgundy years of the past decade. The last white vintage that was rated higher, was that of 2014.

Now look around that plateau. The neighbors grow blackcurrants for crème de cassis. Down the slope? Premier Cru Nuits-Saint-Georges. It doesn’t really scream that Chardonnay lives here, let alone the challenges French grape growers had a century ago.

That pesky, devastating louse phylloxera wiped out the vines. Cheap wine from the South rode in on the new railways. Then came World War I and the Depression. By 1936, nearly half the vineyard was gone, and the hills filled with currant and raspberry patches. Growers spent decades replanting. The Hautes Côtes de Nuits finally got its own appellation in 1961.

So who would plant Chardonnay way up there?

Fast forward to today. Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Burgundy buyer calls the Hautes Côtes perhaps the most exciting part of Burgundy right now. Big names like Domaine Leflaive have moved in. And in 2009, a serious red wine house (Domaine des Perdrix) from just down the slope planted a little Chardonnay of its own.

Domaine des Perdrix owns 99% of the Aux Perdrix Premier Cru in Nuits-Saint-Georges. They hold a piece of Echézeaux Grand Cru, mostly in the prized Echézeaux du Dessus. More than half their vines carry Premier or Grand Cru status.

In the glass, a touch of oak, vanilla and lemon curd hit you with some minerality. On the palate, it’s a bit more intense with impressive richness and a medium rounded body followed by accents of asian pears, bright lemon finishing with bright acidity.

Our take? Nice Chardonnay. Yeah baby. Me likey. Wa wa wee wa!!!! (I literally took those from our afternoon review). Good things don’t always need a long explanation.

Oh, and perdrix means partridge in French. Partridge season is officially open Ops. $43 now. Over 40% OFF🐦