2021 Domaine Monthelie-Douhairet-Porcheret Volnay 1er Cru En Champans 750 ml

Douhairet-Porcheret rose to fame under André Porcheret, the genius vigneron who wears an honor unique in the world: Lalou-Bize Leroy tapped him to be the original winemaker for Domaine Leroy, whose wines now fetch thousands—even tens of thousands—of dollars.

Produced from a mere acre and a half of vines on a top-tier Volnay Premier Cru, most of this wine—imported in a minuscule quantity by Martine's Wines, one of the most esteemed importers of Burgundy in the US—is snapped up by Michelin-starred restaurants like Eleven Madison Park, SF's Angler, and Napa's La Toque. We are incredibly fortunate to have even a small share.

Cataldina Lippo, André Porcheret's granddaughter, studied at his side before taking over winemaking duties with her husband, Vincent Monfort, in 2004. Since then, the couple has infused the cellar with a new sense of dynamism. Burgundy Report once declared their lineup "the most impressive set of wines that I tasted from any new name.”

William Kelley of Wine Advocate goes deeper in his praise: "I've been visiting regularly for several years now, and I'm consistently impressed by the wines' progress: destemmed grapes, classical macerations and élevage with moderate percentages of new oak are the rudiments of what remains a fundamentally traditional approach, but under Cataldina's fastidious tenure, the wines have become purer and more elegant, improving year in, year out."

The Vouvray En Champans comes from a 0.59-hectare parcel—the name "Champans" refers to a field with a slope—that faces east and southeast. The grapes are manually harvested from the stony red and brown soil, destemmed completely, then fermented for 12–20 days before spending 18 months in French oak barrels, just 10% of them new.