Michel Naddef Marsannay Blanc 2023
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The Land
Marsannay sits at the very top of the Côte de Nuits, on the southern edge of Dijon, and most people know it for red and rosé. Its white wine is the best-kept part of the story. The village appellation, created in 1987, covers three communes, Chenôve, Marsannay-la-Côte, and Couchey, and allows white from Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. Vines grow at roughly 220 to 300 meters on Bathonian and Bajocian limestone threaded with marl: shallow, stony soil on the upper slope and deeper marl lower down. The Naddef family works from Fixin, one village south of Couchey, and their Marsannay parcels include Champs Perdrix, a steep, rocky slope behind Couchey. That limestone gives Marsannay white wine its chalky spine, and the cool northern position keeps the acidity bright.
The Wine
Michel Naddef Marsannay Blanc 2023 is Chardonnay from the Côte de Nuits, fermented in barrel. The domaine has used about 20 percent new oak for its village wines, enough to frame the fruit without covering it, and the white rests on its fine lees, which builds a creamy middle around the limestone cut. Expect ripe pear, white peach, and lemon zest, a touch of hazelnut from the barrel, a round, textured midpalate, and a stony finish. The 2023 vintage set a Burgundy volume record, about 1.9 million hectoliters, 29 percent above the five-year average. A late-August heatwave briefly halted ripening, and growers picked at night or from 5 a.m. to bring the grapes in cool. The whites came in with ripe white-fruit aromatics and a supple texture that makes them pleasurable young.
The People
Philippe and Anne-Marie Naddef founded their domaine in 1983, starting from about two hectares in Gevrey-Chambertin that Philippe inherited from his maternal grandfather, Dr. Denis Bizot. The estate has grown to about six hectares across more than a dozen appellations, from Marsannay to Mazis-Chambertin, with most of the Fixin and Marsannay vines rented. Their son Michel joined in 2008 after training at the viticulture school in Beaune and working at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé and Domaine Bertagna. He took over the reds in 2014 and now runs the estate. His changes are specific: more whole-cluster fermentation, shorter cold soaks, less new oak, and a working rule of fruit first, oak second. The domaine has also begun converting to organic farming, a hard task when vines are scattered across that many appellations.
Food Pairing
With barrel texture and limestone cut, this white handles butter and cream. Pan-seared scallops with brown butter and a squeeze of lemon match the round middle, while the acidity keeps the sauce from feeling heavy. Chicken in a tarragon cream sauce with rice pilaf is a French bistro classic that loves the wine's hazelnut edge. Try a gratin of leeks with Comté, or trout amandine, where the toasted almonds echo the barrel and the wine's salinity lifts the fish. This is the bottle to open when friends assume good white Burgundy has to come with a Meursault price.
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Burgundy, in eastern France, encompasses several subregions, but it is the Côte d'Or that is home to many of the world's most expensive and revered wines. The region, primarily a single east-facing slope, has mixed limestone soils that vary dramatically from village to village and even vineyard to vineyard. White wines, crafted from Chardonnay, range from rich and opulent to lean and intensely mineral, while Pinot Noir produces silky, perfumed red wines of exceptional finesse and complexity. Centuries of winemaking tradition have resulted in every plot being meticulously recognized and scrutinized, making the Côte d'Or a true capital of terroir.
Burgundy - Cote d'Or
Chardonnay, one of the world's most versatile and beloved white grape varieties, showcases a remarkable spectrum of styles, from the lean, mineral-driven expressions of Chablis in France to the rich, buttery, and oak-aged versions from California's Napa Valley. Its adaptability extends to cooler climates such as Burgundy, where it achieves elegance and complexity, and to regions like Australia's Yarra Valley, known for producing vibrant and fruit-forward renditions. This grape's ability to reflect its terroir, coupled with winemaking techniques, results in a wide array of profiles, including unoaked, crisp varieties with apple and citrus notes, to full-bodied wines with tropical fruit flavors and creamy textures.
