2019 Domaine Maldant Pauvelot Chorey-Les-Beaune Burgundy 750 ml

We were introduced to Domaine Maldant-Pauvelot by a broker friend who, not for lack of trying, couldn’t quite translate the domaine’s magic into English. We gleaned that the tiny seventh-generation producer was looking for a US importer, and based on the unbound enthusiasm behind our friend’s strained description, we got a good feeling.

That was enough to send us on our way to visit Jean-Luc Maldant, and as soon as we set eyes on him we knew we’d made the right choice. A huge character in a land known for humble, unassuming vintners, Jean-Luc favors ten-gallon hats and red cowboy boots—and he was more than happy to pop us into his BMW X5 and show us his vineyard sites.

Maldant is not into biodynamic farming because it’s trendy, but because he believes it works. At the end of each of his rows, you’ll find a tiny pyramid-shaped bush—a home he devised for the mites and myriad critters that “wake up” his vines.

Because of the proximity of his little “hotels,” he thinks the vines come out of dormancy a bit earlier, lengthening the growing season by a few crucial days. He gets animated talking about this: He’s so into it that only about 40 minutes into our visit did he mention that the Élysée Palace in Paris takes an order of 120 bottles (rumor has it President Emmanuel Macron likes the Aloxe-Corton and Chorey-les-Beaune with barbecued duck).

With polished notes of fresh black cherry and red raspberry, black pepper, and baking spices, the elegant and refined Chorey-les-Beaune is a dream pairing with onion-and-butter-stuffed roast chicken, seared trout—or, of course, canard à la Macron.