Bret Brothers La Soufrandiere, Saint-Veran, La Bonnode Cuvee Ovoide 2021 - 75cl
Ovoide is the giveaway. This Saint-Véran was raised in a concrete egg, and the Bret brothers named the cuvee after the vessel because the vessel is the point. Jean-Guillaume and Jean-Philippe Bret farm biodynamically in the Mâconnais, at the southern end of Burgundy, and La Soufrandière is their family domaine, worked with the same low-intervention care they bring to their négociant wines.
The fruit comes from La Bonnode, a two-hectare climat sitting at 250 metres below the Roche de Vergisson, east-facing, planted on clay over limestone with vines around 35 years old. Everything is Chardonnay. Harvest was by hand in late September 2021, followed by whole-bunch pressing and a wild ferment. The wine then spent seventeen long months first in that concrete egg, then blended into neutral vessels, and went to bottle with almost no sulphur.
What the egg gives is texture. The palate is silky and finely polished, creamier than you would expect from Saint-Véran, yet it stays crystalline and precise, one taster likened it to a Japanese water whetstone. Citrus leads, stone fruit sits behind, and the acidity gathers pressure toward a finish marked by the mouth-watering salinity that runs through all the Brets' wines. Drink it now for the texture or hold it four to five years for more depth.
How to Serve
Serve at 11-12 degrees in a Burgundy glass. Too cold and you lose the creamy mid-palate that makes this wine. It needs no decant, but give it ten minutes out of the fridge before the first sip.
Where to Drink It
The Wolseley for a glass of white Burgundy done properly. Bentley's Oyster Bar off Piccadilly, where it will sing next to a dozen natives. Cornerstone in Hackney Wick for its seafood-forward menu.
Food Pairings
This is a natural with roast chicken and its juices, the salinity and creamy texture flattering the bird. I would also pour it with a plate of scallops seared in butter, or a wedge of Comté with a few walnuts.
