Domaine Chene Macon la Roche Vineuse 2012

Domaine Chene is a family winery that started in 1973 and then expanded in 1999 to improve their winery and safe guard the operation for later generations.  The Chene family has been in the general environs of Burgundy since the early 1800s and Cedric Chene is the current farmer/care taker. Today they farm about 70 acres in the heart of the Macon.  

 

This Macon la Roche Vineuse comes from rocky vineyards of clay and limestone with good southern exposures resulting in more sunlight.  

Aroma: First off I smell ripe pineapple, but also something a bit richer; there's a whiff of caramel as well.  The Chene Macon la Roche aroma is fresh and floral with acacia and viburnum. There's also a little bit of honey suckle mingled in.  As I smell the Chene more I also pick up a whiff of fresh roasted caramel corn: that smell of sweetness mixed with a bit of a toasted aroma from the hot roaster and corn.  There's lots of rich smelling fruit here, but it's not cloying or over done.  This smells like the start of summer!

 

Palate: The Domaine Chene is a really energetic wine that over flows with ripe fruit flavors.  I definitely taste pineapple, but also good fresh apple and some lemony citrus.  The mid-palate opens up and there's some of that rich caramely character and a full expansive texture that balances all the acidity of the opening.  There's also a zingy mineral rockiness that hides under the ripe fruit and lush food flavors to keep the wine lively and fun.  

This is an excellent white Burgundy for the money.  The Chene Macon la Roche is ripe, luxurious, and energetically alive tasting all at the same time.  I think this is a great value for white Burgundy and thanks to all the ripe vivid tropical fruit flavors it tastes like a preview of summer!  This is one of my current favorites. 

Available now at the Rosemont Market on Brighton Ave, in Yarmouth, and at Browne Trading for approximately $17.