About
Maison Chanzy
Maison Chanzy is located in Bouzeron, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy. The 80 hectares of vineyards are farmed according to sustainable approaches by Max Blondelle, who is the winemaker in charge since 2020. The vineyards have been certified sustainable level 3 by HVE.
Max Blondelle’s wines have freshness, energy and fruity notes.
The top wines of the domaine are: Santenay Premier Cru Gravières Blanc, Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune, and Mercurey Les Caraby.
The Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune 2016 scored 86, the Santenay Premier Cru Gravières Blanc 2016 scored 86, and the Mercurey Les Caraby 2016 scored 86 by the Wine Advocate.
Robert Parker’s tasting notes on the Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune 2016: “The 2016 Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune is a step up, revealing notes of musky peaches and white flowers, followed by a medium-bodied, glossy palate with tangy acids and a chalky finish.”
History
1974
The current winemaker at Maison Chanzy is Max Blondelle.
The history of Domaine Chanzy goes back to 1974. It was founded in the heart of Bouzeron, around a house which once belonged to the President of France, Sadi Carnot. The Chanzy family sold the estate in 1998, but that did not work out, and Chanzy was once more up for sale in 2013.
Chanzy also dabbled with négociant cuvées, including grands crus in the Côte de Nuits, but has since sensibly pulled back to concentrate on their strengths in the Côte Chalonnaise. They currently have 66 hectares under vines, and 85 percent of production is from their own land. Maison Chanzy also owns two monopoles: Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune and Mercurey Clos les Bussières.
Max Blondelle, who worked with Domaine Chanson in Beaune before, was hired in January 2020.
Approach
Certified sustainable level 3 by HVE
Maison Chanzy’s plots are farmed according to sustainable principles. The vineyards have been certified sustainable level 3 by HVE.
Reds are picked by hand, whites by machine. The vinification takes place in Bouzeron; the whites are immediately pressed while the reds are carefully sorted and destemmed before a cold pre-fermentation maceration, which takes 6 to 8 days.
Fermentation is done with the use of yeast or spontaneously via pied-de-cuve, depending on the wine and vintage. Ageing varies for each wine. Wines from the basic appellations settle and ferment in a tank while the crus are transferred to the barrel for fermentation.
Max Blondelle uses little new wood. The barrels in the cellar range in size from the traditional 228-litre for Premiers Crus and 450, 500-liter barrels to 2,500-liter foudres for Village wines. The wines are lightly fined and filtrated before bottling with a bit of sulfur.