2022 Domaine Jean-Christophe Perraud Vire-Clesse 750 ml

The most exciting part of Burgundy isn’t in the Côte d’Or. It’s the Mâconnais, where small, conscientious producers are producing some of the most dynamic Chardonnays in France.

Jean-Cristophe Perraud’s organically farmed Viré-Clessé is one of our finest discoveries this decade. His 97-point 2022 placed in the top five at Decanter’s World Wine Awards—tied with Grand Crus in Chablis and Corton—but, more importantly, it absolutely blew us away when we poured it at dinner alongside plenty of $60+ bottles from the Côte d’Or. 

The village of Viré was first planted by the monks of Cluny in the 1500s, and releases like this show that the men of the cloth may have been as well-versed in Chardonnay as they were in scripture. After much careful study of the east-facing hillsides of Mâcon, the tiny hamlet of Viré stood out as perfect for grapegrowing. 

Well-draining and strewn with chunks of white limestone, Viré’s slopes looked much like the Premier Cru and Grand Cru holdings of Meursault and Montrachet. That has attracted attracted Burgundian nobility like Dominique Lafon, who makes $4,000 Montrachet but whose Viré-Clessé is poured at MICHELIN-starred wine temples like Côte in New York.

In addition to an obsession with detail in the vineyards—they’ve farmed organically for quite some time—Jean-Cristophe Perraud has a keen eye for precise vinification, as well. His Viré-Clessé is fermented solely with native yeasts, and most of it ferments and ages in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. But about a quarter of the wine ferments and ages in new French oak, giving a regal polish that sets it apart from most wines of the Mâconnais and reminds us of high-dollar bottles from white Burgundy’s heartland.