Bottler: Bret Brothers/La Soufrandière, 125 rue Aux Bourgeois, 71680 Vinzelles / France
In the glass
Colour
Intense golden yellow, radiant and clear.
Nose
Pristine fruit with citrus, orchard fruits, fine saline notes and a hint of verbena – serene, balanced and complex.
Palate
Creamy richness, powdery-fine phenolics and ripe, vibrant acidity; supremely juicy with rich extract, a slightly bitter finish and a long, cool aftertaste.
Character
A profound, mineral Burgundian Chardonnay of remarkable poise and balance – powerful without heaviness, elegant and expressive.
Pairing
Ideal with pan-fried turbot with beurre blanc, chicken in morel sauce or aged Comté.
Notes
From the 2-hectare "Les Quarts" plot with 48–80-year-old vines on clay-limestone soils; spontaneously fermented, 17 months on the lees, unfiltered and only minimally sulphured – Demeter-certified biodynamic.
Tasting note
Colour & appearance
Deep golden yellow, radiant and clear – a wine that exudes calmness and maturity even in the glass.
Nose
The aromatic profile recalls the great Chardonnays of the Côte d’Or: citrus and pome fruit merge with saline notes and a hint of verbena. Nothing dominates; everything forms part of a harmonious whole – pristine, cool, and of impressive clarity.
Palate
Creamy texture meets powdery-fine phenolics and ripe, vibrant acidity. Extremely juicy, yet slender and without any heaviness. Rich in extract, with a structure that suggests depth – a wine of remarkable balance and tension.
Finish
Long and cool, with a slightly bitter note on the finish – a lingering aftertaste that makes the minerality of the limestone soil palpable.
Terroir & origin
The Les Quarts plot is located in Pouilly-Vinzelles in the southern Mâconnais, on a south-east-facing slope at around 230 metres. The living Bajocian clay-limestone soil with siliceous crystals and vines partly over 80 years old shape its characteristic minerality. Domaine La Soufrandière, founded in 1947, is now run by the Bret brothers in their third generation.
Grape variety & vinification
Pure Chardonnay from biodynamic viticulture (Demeter-certified since 2006). Manual harvest, whole-bunch pressing, spontaneous fermentation with natural yeasts. Maturation lasts 17 months on the lees, partly in stainless steel and partly in used barriques. In the ZEN cuvée, sulphur is omitted during fermentation and maturation; only a minimal amount is added at unfiltered bottling.
Food recommendations
A wine for steamed turbot with beurre blanc, pan-fried scallops on cauliflower purée, or white poultry in morel cream sauce. Also an excellent choice with young Comté or risotto with lemon and thyme.
Special features
The term Millerandée refers to a selection of particularly small-berried grapes – concentrated, intense, and naturally dense. The ZEN philosophy of largely eschewing sulphur gives the wine an unusual directness and transparency.
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