#17 PRIMA’s ’24 for 24’ Best Wines Of The Year

Our search for great white Burgundy from everyday drinking has once again taken us deep in the Maconnais, Burgundy’s southernmost outpost.  It is here, in these rolling granitic hills west of the city of Macon, where the last vestiges of true value in the region can be found- an area that we parsimonious wine merchants often mine for our own pleasure.  And if it’s good enough for cheapskates like Frank and me, it must be good enough for you, right?  And finding Macon-Villages that can drink like Pouilly-Fuisses, the class appellation of the region?  You can sign us up every time!  Wines like this are essential to our wellbeing.  They are the fuel that powers the Rittmasters (and Rothsteins, and Muellers), the absence of which we are constantly trying to compensate for in the family wine fridge!  I intend on taking care of a few of those holes right now and so should you!  The Thevenets, now in their third generation, are the most famous producers in the tiny but prestigious Macon-Pierreclos appellation and are turning out some really classy, serious whites from their older holdings in nearby Saint Veran as well.  The family’s top wine is produced from a five-hectare parcel of 70-year plus old vines organically farmed by the family as a monopole.  These south-facing Chardonnay vines are located on a hillside near the town of Prissé, the most felicitous part of the Saint Veran appellation, bordering, in fact, on Fuisse itself.  Aged in tank (no oak!), just about 1000 cases of this dense, flavorful cuvee are ever made.  I simply can never get enough.  I love wines like this…..it’s intense without being ponderous, aromatic without being light, and finishes extremely long despite its obvious crisp, mineral finish.  It’s all Asian pears and white flowers on a fullish frame that ends beautifully.  There is enough chutzpah here for the richest of fish and seafood preparations but it also drinks super well all by itself and won’t overwhelm lighter fare either. My wife calls this the white Burgundy to drink while deciding on white Burgundy to drink next