Domaine Ramonet, based in Chassagne, was once the star of the White Burgundy, and remains esteemed today, albeit it's become alittle bit more of a crowded space, and to that end Domaine Ramonet has carried with it across three-generations, the ascetic principles set forth by the first-generation Pierre Ramonet, which has made this white Burgundy star ofter underrated as a result of its size.

This Is Domaine Ramonet: A Brief History

Pierre Ramonet lived in a time of great turbulence, having seen two world wars, the great American depression and Prohibition, all of which of course affected wine demand across the pond over in France. Pierre had himself arrived in Burgundy in the late 1920's with just a knapsack of whatever he had, having quit school at the age of just eight to help his father who was a vineyard worker. This instilled in Pierre a hardiness and a life principle of living with great austerity. But he knew a good deal when he saw one, and by 24, he would purchase his first vineyard, the Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ruchottes.

Pierre Ramonet.

At the time, the land had lost much of its value and as folks left Burgundy, it opened up opportunities for the likes of Pierre. Pierre would continue to acquire several top quality Grand Cru and Premier Cru plots (at one point even going to the lawyer's office with a wad of cash to purchase a plot of Montrachet), the most of any small domaine in the area. He would clear the land by hand and replant the vines. And whilst things didn't always seem so bright, Pierre would struck gold when a notable wine writer Raymond Baudoin of the Revue de Vin de France, would introduce his wines to Frank Schoonmaker. This was the early 1930's and Prohibition had just attended, with American merchants and distributors setting out to France in search of wines to reintroduce to America - Ramonet's 1934 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Ruchottes became the first estate-bottled white Burgundy to make its way to the US!

Ramonet's stylistic distinctiveness set him apart over the terroir's signature characteristics, with his limestone rich vineyards and crisp cool climate producing wines that are rich, concentrated and supple. The wines produced from each vineyard is often said to be highly individualistic, with the expression going that it is first a Ramonet before it is a Batard.

The Ramonet family.

Pierre would eventually hand the vineyards over to his son Andre, who in turn handed it over to his sons Noel and Jean-Claude. Today the estates are helmed by Jean-Claude with the help of his daughter and Noel's sons. Over the two generations succeeding Pierre, work has been focused on the vineyards, with less acquisitions made available, which in turn has resulted in several other domaines eclipsing Ramonet in size, serving them well. Today it is virtually impossible to acquire any more land in the area given the startling rise in values, and for that reason, Ramonet has found itself increasingly underrated due to their smaller size.

Into The Chassagne Vineyards

In the vineyards (20 hectares across 4 Grand Crus Montrachet, Batard, Chevalier and Bienvenues, and 9 Premier Crus; primarily Chardonnay with also a small parcel of Pinot Noir), Jean-Claude works with older vines, declassifying vines under 18 years and excluding them from its most selective prized cuvees. He's also worked to reduce yields to increase concentration, and in the cellar, the fruit  is gently crushed before pressing. With no settling, the wines begin to undergo fermentation in stainless steel tanks all the way even in barrel. The white wines get about 5% of new oak for the entry level cuvees, with the Premier and Grand Crus getting 25-35% new oak (with the Ruchottes getting 40% and the Montrachet getting 100%). They're aged in barrel for 18 months on their lees, with no batonnage or racking up until they are bottled, as Jean-Claude believes that these actions only serves to standardise the wines.

And so today we're going to try the most accessible regional blanc cuvee, this is Ramonet's 2021 Bourgogne Blanc.

Wine Review: Domaine Ramonet (Jean-Claude) 2021 Bourgogne Côte d'Or Chardonnay Blanc

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Straw

Aroma: It opens fairly rustic and meadowy - grass, pressed white wildflowers, hay; beneath which is a brighter assortment of light green fruits of green apples, pears, gooseberries, some not yet ripe peaches and apricots too, as well as some even brighter and delicate tones of lemon and yellow canary melons. There's some minerality and chalk at the base, even a very light smoke. It's fairly creamy, but in an understated way, little bit of almond nougat too.

Taste: More of the same fruits, in fact largely resembling the nose here, with the palate being alittle more green fruit led. Gentle notes of green apples, pears, gooseberries, lemon meringue; the acidity here is fairly gentle, perhaps some tartness if anything. There's also a slight crunchiness of cucumbers and yellow melons. It's more creamy here, richer too - medium-bodied. There's a more developed nuttiness here, almonds and fermented cashews. There's a light strand of honey, although the sweetness is very light, heading into the finish with some cement.

Finish: It takes a richer and more creamy turn into the finish. Alittle more peppery, with more of the gooseberries and sweet lemons coming through, finally landing on some marzipan and concrete. Clean finish, with some residual richness.

My Thoughts 

Now bearing in mind that this is but Ramonet's entry level regional label - I find this incredibly impressive already, but I must toss in a caveat. 

To begin, I find that this had a vibrance about it that was very impressive - it was almost all encompassing on the palate, with flavours that was incredibly evocative of a rustic and very au natural farmhouse scene - it doesn't overdo it, it's not in your face or maximalist, instead offering precise hits of green fruits and melons, accompanied by meadows of grass, flowers and hay. You almost feel like you're strolling through a meadow on a breezy afternoon. It's gentle to the extent it feels realistic and natural. It doesn't give much in the way of sweetness nor any particular taste (such as sweetness or bitterness), but what it does offer is loads in flavour - think fruits, melons, florals.

This could largely be said for the bouquet on the nose as well, however, on the nose it was mostly the same as what was on the palate except far more gentle and not nearly as rich, it was definitely much more restrained. Yet I will say that I still found myself impressed by how evocative it was, even if it wasn't as vibrant.

Into the finish, I was particularly impressed as it became richer and developed more on the nuttiness with an almost cultured butter or fermented cashew flavour that I found very fascinating and again rustic, yet it can be said to be alittle funky.

Now about that caveat - whilst I personally enjoyed this richer, more rustic style of whites, ones that are not too musky nor demonstrate lots of acidity, I have to acknowledge that some folks might find that the acidity on this is rather absent, and could certainly be heightened - some folks like to hurt their tongues I suppose. Here we don't get so much of that zappy, bright, almost striking acidity, instead this is a much more mellow and gentle style (that I personally prefer).

Kanpai!

@111hotpot