Domaine Franck Lamargue Auxey-Duresses Les Hautes

Franck Lamargue is an exciting winemaker producing a small number of wines from some of the less famous villages of the southern Côte de Beaune.

Chardonnay,

Auxey-Duresses is Meursault's discreet neighbor, approximately 4 times smaller. With 133 hectares of vines and only around forty planted with white grapes, this appellation is still little known. Let's take advantage of it because it allows us to benefit from attractive pleasure-price ratios . Les Hautés is a plot of land which touches Meursault. The terroir, mainly composed of marl, is suitable for Chardonnay . Franck Lamargue takes the time to observe his vines and adapt his interventions to each plot and the conditions of each vintage. Some vines are plowed, others grassed. The vines are cultivated using sustainable agriculture . Treatments are only carried out when they are essential. The harvest is done by hand. The grapes are then pressed and settled for approximately 24 hours in order to put only the clear juice into oak barrels which can then ferment. Fermentation is done with native yeasts, naturally present in the cellar. This will be followed by aging for 9 to 12 months depending on the vintage, always in barrels.

This Auxey Duresses shares a lot of the characteristics of a good Meursault. It's quite powerful with rich apple and sweet spice flavours enveloped in a soft creamy texture. The crisp acidity hits just the right note to keep everything in an ideal balance.

This fantastically well balanced and complex wine would be a great accompaniment with asparagus risotto, avocado with mayonnaise of Beaufort (French Cows Cheese from Savoie Region). Frog legs, veal in sauce, fish with spices, Comté, Saint-Nectaire, Brie… the list goes on.