Barraud Macon Chaintre 2009

Planted in 1985 to silty soils atop a pebbly substrate, Chardonnay vines are tended for optimum ripeness and low yields to foster wines with a flexible texture and vivacious fruit. Manual labor, vigilant viticulture, and a gifted blustery climate allows the Barrauds to tend their vineyards with no synthetic herbicides or pesticides. Coupled with natural yeast fermentations, gravity fed winemaking, malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, and no filtration -these methods reveal wines that express the terroir that is worthy of all the fuss; this is the pinnacle of Macon.
Wine review by Nicholas Livingston, March 2012