Chardonnay, Nicolas Delfaud 'Macon Verze'

This expression of Macon Chardonnay is based in organic farmed vines, fermented in stainless with indigenous yeast. The wine was aged 9 months in a combination of tank and neutral barrels. Fresh and nervy with citrus fruit notes and a mineral core, the glass is fresh and clean with pronounced flavors of yellow apple and subtle flicks of tangerine and orange zest. The subtle presence of alcohol was a treat and truly brought home the rustic, handcrafted feeling in Nicolas' wines.

Up and comer Nicolas Delfaud is making authentic, mineral and balanced wines from east-facing limestone slopes in the appellation of Macon-Verzé. Currently in organic conversion, Nicolas farms 4 hectares of Chardonnay and Gamay vines ranging in age up to 55 years old. Following a philosophy that wine is made in the vineyards, Nicolas tends to be hands off in the cellar and ferments his wines with indigenous yeast and minimal intervention. 

Born in the suburbs of Paris, Delfaud's first career was sommelier and store room manager at a small four-star hotel in Paris. At the age of 32, he decided to follow his heart and begin his formal winemaking education and in 2009 he settled on an estate in the village of Verzé with his two children.