Mouton Rothschild Family’s White-Burgundy Rival

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2017 Domaine de Baronarques Chardonnay Limoux Languedoc-Roussillon 750 ml

$35 per bottle

Shipping included on orders $150+.
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  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Challenging the Côte d’Or

When the family behind Bordeaux First Growth Château Mouton Rothschild sets out to make a wine, they aim to create an icon. 

Take a look at the Baron Philippe de Rothschild portfolio—Mouton Rothschild, Château Clerc-Milon, Château d’Armailhac, Opus One, and Chile’s Almaviva—and two things become clear: The Rothschild family seldom ventures outside of the Médoc to make wine. And when they do, it’s only for first-class projects on world-class properties. As California’s Opus One and Chile’s Viña Almaviva (James Suckling’s reigning Wine of the Decade) attest, when the Rothschilds set out to make a wine, they aim to create an icon.

It speaks volumes then that the family set their sights on Domaine de Baronarques in Limoux, which enjoys a unique position in the normally roasting Languedoc: It’s just 60 miles from the Mediterranean, 240 miles from the Atlantic, and is subject to the cooling effects of both bodies of water. It’s also perched at around 1000 feet of elevation, which means the property gets tons of cool sunshine. 

Add in the clay and limestone soils and you’ve got the formula for a white-Burgundy rival that could capture the imagination of one of the world’s foremost winemaking families. Their 2017 is star-bright and awash in poached pear, ripe apple, and tropical fruit aromas, all complemented by complex hints of toasted nuts, lime leaf, acacia blossom, and a hint of wild fennel. Rounded in mouthfeel but with a nice acidic cut, it’s a tightly constructed Chardonnay and an exemplar of the potential of this unique Limoux terroir.