2020 Domaine Cordier Pere et Fils Jean de la Vigne Bourgogne Blanc 750 ml

There’s a simple reason why Domaine Cordier’s Jean de la Vigne is one of the best-kept secrets in wine.

The modest label does not prepare you for what’s inside.

After all, the text on the bottle suggests this is a mere Bourgogne Blanc—from an address in southern Burgundy’s generally modest Mâcon region, no less. But Cordier is one of Burgundy’s true masters of Chardonnay—a “topflight” producer, in the words of Wine Spectator—and this wine actually is a single-vineyard bottling grown on a special site just south of the famous village of Fuissé.

This wine’s beautiful purity derives from winemaker Christophe Cordier’s meticulous approach, which begins with organic farming in the vineyard and hand-harvesting perfectly ripe Chardonnay grapes. In the cellar, he fermented the 2020 using only indigenous yeast, aged it on the lees to bring out a hint of nutty complexity, and bottled it unfined and unfiltered. He also solely uses larger oak barrels, very few of which are new, to allow for the development of texture without any intrusive wood flavors.

In a sterling white-Burgundy vintage like 2020, which Wine Advocate ranks “among the very best produced in the last two decades,” this bottle is an absolute gem. MICHELIN-starred Aquavit in NYC pairs it with scallops and endive, where its Meyer lemon notes stand as a perfect foil for the saline sweetness of the shellfish.

Don’t worry if you aren’t pulling out all the stops in the kitchen, though—this will elevate a simple salad into a special night or turn a casual roast-chicken dinner into a party-worthy centerpiece.