Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses Premier Cru "La vie est belle" White 2017

100% Pinot Blanc.

A playful cuvée which diverges from the traditional wines of the domaine, this is a pinot blanc from 9 rows of vines in Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru "Ile des Vergelesses", an orange wine (white wine vinified as a red), macerated with the skins without punching down for 15 days. Aged in a used barrel of 350L for 12 months and bottled without sulfur. Tangerine and salty with tea-like tannins. It's a fascinating drink and obviously something completely atypical for region. Bottled under wax and with its own unique label, it's a one-of-a-kind Burgundy.

"Under the auspices of Claude and François de Nicolay, Domaine Chandon de Briailles is in terrific shape. Over the last decade, vinification has become more and more gentle, with no pumping during fermentation or élevage, and no filtration before bottling. The wines’ tannins are correspondingly finer and their fruit component richer and more vibrant than was formerly the case. The grapes are seldom destemmed and new oak used sparingly, so the house style is strong, but for my money, these are among the small handful of wines that realize the true potential of the hill of Corton. Indeed, if these vines were growing in Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny instead of Savigny-lès-Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses and Alox-Corton, the wines they produce would already be prohibitively expensive, so shrewd consumers should take note. Heavily frosted in 2016—fully 11 hectares yielded a mere 7 barrels after the combined depredations of mildew and the cold—the vines bounced back the following year, giving a generous 35-40 hectoliters per hectare in 2017. The result is a supple, open-knit range that will never rival the domaine's 2016s and 2015s, but which will provide plenty of near-term pleasure, with the Corton Bressandes and Clos du Roi showing, unsurprisingly, the best potential for the long haul. From bottle, the 2016s, however, are magical: from the cellar-worthy Bourgogne Gelée Royale to the deep, concentrated and searingly mineral Corton Clos du Roi, readers who are prepared to cellar their Burgundies for a decade or more will be rewarded with profound bottles, defined by their terroirs. 2017, by contrast, will be better adapted to anyone seeking immediate gratification."

The Wine Advocate