Residing at the foothills of the towering Roche de Solutré cliff is the serene little village of Vergisson. It is here in the expansive ranges of the Mâconnais, in the south of Burgundy and in fact closer to Beaujolais, that Jessica Litaud works singularly - both literally and metaphorically! - to produce Chardonnay's that have captivated wine insiders in unprecedented fashion and speed. These folks are by no means the easiest to win over, having been spoilt by a decades long era of legendary Burgundy whites produced by some the wine world's most illustrious - their spectacular prices tell as much - and yet, Litaud is no ordinary winemaker and has been producing little than extraordinary wines.

Hailing from a family of Burgundian winemakers, Litaud is no stranger to the practice, yet it is her simultaneous daring and commitment to winemaking that has made her stand out, which has in turn been embodied by her wines. A foodie and an avid traveller, Litaud would study accounting before taking some time to travel around the world exposing herself to palates beyond the Mâcon, and thereafter would return to take on a long apprenticeship with two incredibly highly regarded winemakers, both known for their boldness in experimentation and conviction in extracting terroir from the unlikeliest of places. She would first learn under the tutelage of Jean-Marie Guffens in Litaud's hometown of Vergisson (whose wines when she tasted had "made [her] want to make wine"), before working under Jura legend Jean-François Ganevat. With several years under her belt, she would thus return to take over some of her family's vineyards in 2018, with the first order of business converting all farming practices to organic and also working along the biodynamic calendar.

Jessica Litaud with her Australian Shepherd Houston.

With a desire to fully understand every aspect of her land and to master her winemaking, Litaud would deliberately choose to only work off of an incredibly small 2 hectares of her family's vineyards (with a total of 5 hectares including leased parcels), or what she calls "just enough to work alone" - she is of course aided by her incredibly cute Australian Shepherd Houston. Litaud's vineyards are dotted around the Mâconnais, from the Mâcon-Vergisson to the Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran appellations, with several of them classified as Premier Cru parcels (La Maréchaude, Sur La Roche and Les Crays) and holding significantly older vines of up to 50 years of age. The vines are laid over steep limestone rich slopes of altitude and rests under the cool shadow of the massive Roche de Solutré rock formation. 

And so operating entirely on her own, Litaud works across her vineyards with a light yet meticulous touch, from using incredibly manual mechanical weeding and hoeing to applying Guyot-Poussard pruning (a tedious and advanced technique that allows the vines to grow along the natural flow of its sap) which serves to enhance vine health naturally. Whilst having the effect of lowering yields, her sustainable practices have significantly improved fruit quality. Harvests are again manual, with Litaud tediously using small 7 kg crates ensuring that all fruit is delicately handled and sorted carefully, protecting them from bruising and premature oxidation and fermentation.

Once in the cellars, the Chardonnay fruits are cooled to 4°C for at least 12 hours before they are gently pressed whole-bunch with long cycles as per the Champenoise method that favours slow extraction (the fruit is not crushed until it enters the press, with care taken to not break the skins so that the juice produced is as clear, un-oxidised, and as tannin-free as possible) and short settling times - this results in purity and freshness of the fruit flavours even if it takes much longer. Spontaneous fermentation is then allowed to take place in old oak barrels (that do not impart woodiness to the wines) under cool temperature, with then no additions aside from a micro dose of sulphur to ensure the wines are optimally preserved. The wines are then allowed to age for typically 10-11 months (with 22 months used for some Premier Crus) before bottling, with subsequently another period of ageing in bottle before it is released.

“All my wines are the result of isolating the hearts of the press. Managing the acidity at the press is the secret to such energy in the wine. No new barrels are used during aging, and I like to experiment with different containers.” says Jessica.

And so even though Litaud's inaugural vintage was but just in 2019, her wines have already quickly and decisively won over wine insiders. With production incredibly minute as a result of every step of the way from vine to bottle being so hands on and precise - everything is done by Litaud herself! - her wines are incredibly sought after (at a fraction of the prices you'd expect with white Burgundy), with what it seems to be no plans to quickly scale, given that her goal isn't to make more wines but to have fun making them!

And so having followed Litaud's story for some time now, when I had found out that Singapore's WEA Wines were now just going to bring them in, I had to make a beeline to give them a try - and don't you just love it when they live up to the hype? Jessica's wines certainly did!

 PS. I was fortunate to get to try Litaud's wines at the WEA Wines booth at the 2025 Grape Escape wine fair that is organised annually by the Sommelier Association of Singapore (SAS) in conjunction with the Singapore National Sommelier Competition. The event sees dozens of importers showcasing their portfolio, with also the country's sommeliers put through the ringer to be crowned champion - best of all, this is all open to the public! So if you're into wines or dipping your feet into it, definitely look out for the next edition of the Grape Escape wine fair!

With all that said, let's go through some of Jessica Litaud's brilliant Chardonnay's!

Wine Review: Domaine Jessica Litaud Saint-Véran Les Pommards

This incredibly minute 0.25 hectare parcel of 25 year old vines sits at the foot of the Roche de Solutré, which provides a cooler climate even with excellent exposure which in turn allows for quality fruit ripening. It's aged for 12 months in old barriques.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: Incredibly perfumed and aromatic with a floral bouquet of pear blossoms, honeysuckle, jasmines and elderflower. It's alittle waxy of exotic oriental lacquered wood, even alittle resinous, leaning over into delicate white peaches. It's accented by a vibrant and more saturated tone of orange blossoms. 

Taste: Medium-bodied here, rounded and plush, with all those orchard fruits of apples and pears, garnished again by those same perfumed floral bouquets of honeysuckle and elderflower. It's waxy and alittle resinous, reminiscent of lacquered agarwood, powerfully aromatic, with a canvas of honey and maltose giving it quite the richness. It keeps itself fresh with light and bright but delicate and soft acidity, with also a gentle savouriness of bruised apples.

Finish: More of that savouriness of bruised apples, here with also more on apple juice, with a drizzle of maltose. The acidity remains light, with the savouriness carried along through a seamless and crystalline finish. It's plush and rich all the way through with still that oriental resin quality.

My Thoughts

What a beautiful Chardonnay! Absolutely stunning! It's so powerfully aromatic and elegant, and it doesn't stop there, it has the body to go with it, bringing with it the most supple and plush texture that continues to embody with great saturation all those perfumed florals and oriental, waxy resinous qualities, balanced out by that gentle savouriness of bruised orchard fruits. It's yet not heavy even with that unctuousness, somehow still coming across delicate, ephemeral and fresh. This carries all the way through from nose to finish, with the acidity bright yet rounded.

Wine Review: Domaine Jessica Litaud Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru La Maréchaude

This one comes from 50 year old vines which is quite a significant age, also from an incredibly small parcel that's just 0.25 hectares, with the Premier Cru La Marechaude one of Vergisson's only four 1er Crus. It sits at an elevated altitude of 310 meters above sea level and is located just below the Les Crays vineyard which Litaud also farms. The soils here are marl and limestone with a rocky terrain. The wine is aged for 12 months in old barriques.

This comes from the 2023 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: Impeccably fresh and lifted, with vibrant aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine and apple blossoms layered over apples and pears. There's also some floury doughiness that underscores the radiant layers of florals and fruits.

Taste: Medium-bodied, polished and rounded but here more noticeably more detailed and precise, really lifted and again conveying that sense of crisper higher toned freshness. A more compact mix of apples and bruised apples decked out with maltose. It has a crystalline and more concentrated structure, really elegant and clean, with such a svelte body.

Finish: More on apples, pears, maltose and waxy resin, it persists in its boldness with really forward fruit and candied qualities, still really rich and clean, supple and crystalline. Such purity!

My Thoughts

What an elegant wine! Where the Saint Veran was evocative and perfumed, the Pouilly Fuisse La Marechaude shows that it can take it to the next level with here a more perfected execution of the same profile - this was so refined and polished, sporting more liftedness and freshness, really conveying that sense of purity with also such a concentration of those fruits and florals. It's alittle less waxy here and perhaps alittle less intense as compared to the Saint Veran, yet instead this shows more clarity and focus with that stylishly clean detail and precision. It's so focused on just that core palette with then such a polished structure! Perfumed, delicate and concentrated, this was like watching a ballerina in show!

Wine Review: Domaine Jessica Litaud Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru Sur La Roche

We come to the other Premier Cru from Litaud (she's got three at the moment!), this is from the Sur La Roche parcel that's 0.71 hectares (still really tiny) of 50 year old vines, sitting even higher up at 380 meters above sea level, where the soils are more shallow and of brown chalk. It's got great exposure for ripening, with also that coolness of the windy climate to preserve that freshness. It's aged for 22 months in old barriques.

This comes from the 2023 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: It opens really resinous, with this powerfully aromatic lacquered agarwood, jasmine and honeysuckle perfume, upon which it stacks slices of pears and apples, even alittle side of more savoury bruised apples, all drizzled with some candied maltose. There's that floury doughy presence that cusps the aromatics, giving it a richer balance.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, rounded and plush as we've come to expect. It's filled in with those richer, more concentrated yet at the same really bold and focused orchard fruits of apples and pears, again with a touch of savouriness of bruised apples. Maltose drizzles lace the body, with then that waxy, resinous, oh so oriental lacquered agarwood perfume, backed up by garnishes of elderflower and jasmine.

Finish: The florals and orchard fruits carry through the finish, really concentrated and beguiling tea resin, elderflowers and jasmines of course, with then a more prominent bit of savouriness of bruised apples. It's seamless through the finish, richly woven, clean, with now this lingering mineral quality that comes through, with also more of that floury mustiness of freshly dusted dough.

My Thoughts

Taking it even further, here we are impressively brought to new vantages! Those by now familiar - though hardly taken for granted! - powerfully intense resinous oriental aromatics and orchard fruits are still on full display, candied too, with that doughy evidence of the lees ageing now a consistent theme amongst the Premier Crus (1er Cru), yet here we start to see more of that minerality show itself, delicate yet precise! 

The Sur La Roche bears a good deal of similarity with the La Marechaude - they are both 1er Cru Pouilly Fuisse after all - and feels very much on par except for being a different interpretation of the same signature profile. Again, the Sur La Roche definitely feels more focused as compared to the Saint Veran, more elegant and refined, and where the La Marechaude was all about the precision, finesse and detail, the Sur La Roche is more about generosity and expansiveness, delivering more complexity. The Sur La Roche comes off more easy-going and approachable, yet much like a velvet glove over an iron fist, holds an understated power about it. Superb!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot