Philippe Bouzereau Chateau de Citeaux Bourgogne Chardonnay 2015

This 2015 is decidedly Burgundian(noses apples, citrus, Meyer citrus, lemon zest) with stone fruit(peach). Descriptors like 'Vanilla' and 'creaminess', 'oak' may have been overstated by some Vivino tasters- ay least not in the beginning. Still, certain nuttiness is there(hazelnuts) leading to a crisp and zesty core of minerality(earthy and slatey). It finishes slender, atypical, sophisticated. Over time, it becomes tropical and leaves some meurseult characters with a buttery finish. A nice surprise.

This wine starts to drink nicely now: only a fraction of bottle bouquet developed, pointing to the suprising 'mileage'. 2013 is a dividing year. Before then, this wine uses cultured yeast and after that indigenous yeast. Hence, this ripe 2015 tastes slightly 'wild' to us for the class. Medium finish, not alcoholic at all. Your friends may think this is a pricier wine after tasting it.

The maker Philippe Bouzereau is pretty seasoned and energetic. He has been vinifying the wines at his family's 37-acre Château de Citeaux estate since 2006. There are usually 25 wines in the range from Santenay to Corton. Malolactic is spontaneous for all his wines, and this basic Bourgogne White sees ten months in barrel followed by six months in tank before bottling. This sunny 2015 wine racked into the tank just before the 2017 harvest. Bouzereau uses a maximum of 20 to 25 per cent new oak, always at 13% ABV, small wonder that most tastings recall a fresh, light, sweet toast element.

Citeaux is a one of the leading Abbeys controlled by the Pope, after Cluny and Fontenay, if my Masters didn't fail me.

Photo by CK Tsang.