Rich, creamy and quite concentrated chardonnay with peach, hazelnut, bran biscuit and savoury, nutty yeast lees flavours. A seamless and satisfying wine that is deliciously approachable now but promises to age well. Alcohol: 13%. Closure: screwcap. Drink: 2019-2024. Rating: 95/100.

Occasionally, when rare parcels of particularly outstanding Beechworth grapes become available, Savaterre's wine maker Keppell Smith likes to create something unique, like this Chardonnay, and bottle it under Savaterre's Frere Cadet (Younger Brother) label. These wines are created with the same attention to detail that goes into their premium Savaterre label.

Saint-Véran is a village appellation at the southern tip of the Mâconnais area. This AOC which surrounds Pouilly-Fuissé was created in 1971 and includes the villages of Saint-Vérand, Leynes, Prissé, Davayé, Chasselas and Chânes The Saint-Véran Villages sees a small portion (around 20%) of 228 litre oak barrel fermentation with the lions share being in tank. The smaller format oak (than used for the Meurgey-Croses Viré-Clessé) carries a little more influence and theres a note of smokiness to go along with the volume and minerality. I look for precision, purity and freshness of the wines- Pierre Meurgey Shop Meurgey-Croses

THIBAULT LIGER-BELAIR Les Charmes , Bourgogne Blanc

Domaine du Roc Des Boutires En Bertilionne , Pouilly-Fuissé The fruit is sourced exclusively from En Bertilionne, located in the southern end of Burgundy. 0.57 hectares of limestone with shoals of marl, very deep chalk. The old vines (35-years), or vielles vignes, of Chardonnay are planted at an altitude of between 250 and 500 meters, which is quite high compared to other AOC Burgundies. The result is mature, well-positioned vines producing fruit that creates wines of complexity and freshness.