Henri Germain Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot Les Fairendes 1er Blanc 2022

Quiet, unassuming and media shy, Jean-François Germain crafts some of the most delicious and under-exposed white Burgundies on the Côte. We have been earnestly beating a drum for the quality of this fine Domaine for many years, so why stop now. Henri Germain is a benchmark white Burgundy producer of the highest order; up there with the very, very best. Recent years have seen Germain's star rise in the export markets, due in part to American critics waking up to what is happening at this Domaine, but also because so many other great Burgundy producers rave about Germain's whites. This is what is most telling for us; the admiration that Germain receives on the Côte itself. One of our favourite stories about this producer came from the legendary Bruno Clair, who told us that his brother buys Jean-Francois Germain's whites each year now and without fail calls Bruno to inform him how much better the Germain whites are than his! Clair went on to praise the high standard of viticulture practised by Jean-François Germain. Burgundians like Bruno Clair do not offer such praise lightly. Producers in our portfolio like Olivier Lamy, Thierry Pillot and Benjamin Leroux have also regularly made the claim that the whites of J.F. Germain are the best in Burgundy! Obviously they are talking about their personal tastes, but again, these are not the kind of people who would make such statements lightly.The Germain methods are very traditional with organic farming, low yields and cellar work that keeps interference to a minimum. Prior to 2004, the wines had been excellent; tightly wound, classic and long lived. From 2004, thanks to subtle changes in viti and vini culture, the wines became more textural, more intense, more mind blowing. The vinification is minimalist in the extreme with no added yeasts, no enzymes and not even any bâtonnage (bar extremely austere vintages like 1996). If the lees are sufficiently clean, the wines are never racked and the élevage lasts 18 months for the village wines and a full 22 months for the remaining wines. The wines are rarely fined or filtered. The cold cellars make for a very long, slow élevage, the malos are always late and the primary fermentations typically take between three and twelve months. Importantly, the wines see little new oak, usually between 20-30%.For those who can actually get their hands on these wines, quality has never been better. As many of our customers will know, Burgundy producers renowned for their whites can often be an excellent source of very fairly priced, delicious reds. Jean-François Germain is a terrific example of such a producer. - Importer Note