2023 Claude Vialade Reserve du Champ des Nummus Chardonnay

This 100% Chardonnay is from Haute Vallée de l'Aude, towards the Autugnac plateau, opening onto the Pyrenees and vinified by a local winemaker Mathilde Fort. Mathilde studied oenology in Dijon and acquired the sensitivity and expertise to vinify great Chardonnays. A 12 Ha plot of Chardonnay, planted in 1972, located between 400 and 450 meters altitude and facing southeast. The subsoil is clay-limestone, and the gravelly top layer is composed of black soil, rich in schist, gravel, and exposure to the sun, the wind, and the altitude creates an exceptional microclimate that promotes a slow and long ripening period.

Winemaking: Manual harvest with grapes gently pressed by gravity. Pressing is slow, and the must is clarified at low temperatures. After settling, the must is transferred into barrels by gravity. The proportion of new barrels is 20%, with 80% being 1 and 2-year-old barrels. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place in barrels, and the aging on fine lees is paced by regular stirring until June of the year following the harvest. The Limoux appellation has the most restrictive production conditions of all French wine appellations. The wines can only be released for sale from May following the harvest, which is a minimum of 8 months.

Tasting: A mineral and complex nose, where notes of ripe fruit, flowers, and spices mingle. The palate is full-bodied, structured, rich, and of great elegance with a long finish. The smooth finish reveals a lovely freshness and an aging potential of at least 5 years.

Food pairing: For aperitif with foie gras on toasts or accompanying refined fish and seafood dishes. 

Press: Gold - Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge