white
Bouzeron
Domaine Laurent Dufouleur
Vintage & Drinking Window
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Drinking Window
2024 - 2028. This wine is intended for its sprightly primary phase and will not benefit from prolonged cellaring. Past 2028, the core tension will likely fade into a flat, nutty profile.
Perfect time to enjoy!
Vintage Notes
The 2022 Burgundy growing season has been roundly celebrated as bountiful and beautiful, offering a welcome return to respectable volumes after the devastating frost of 2021. For the Cote Chalonnaise, the vintage provided near-record sunshine, yet crucially sidestepped the blistering, acid-stripping heat spikes seen in 2003 or 2020. The Aligote grapes achieved full physiological ripeness by mid-September without excessive sugar accumulation, allowing producers to preserve the grape's signature energetic cut. For Domaine Laurent Dufouleur, 2022 ranks squarely in the upper half of the decade's vintages, delivering clean, healthy fruit that required virtually no triage. While some whites from the Maconnais further south felt the heat and showed slightly softer acid profiles, Bouzeron's altitude insulated the vines, resulting in a wine that captures the vintage's accessibility while maintaining crucial tension. Market-wise, this is a highly drinkable, immediate vintage, entirely unsuited for long-term collection. Priced widely between 24 and 30 USD on US retail shelves, it remains broadly allocated and stable in price. It is not an appreciating asset. At the $25 mark, it is a smart, refreshing buy for immediate consumption, but overpaying beyond $30 diminishes its value ratio rapidly against entry-level Chablis.
AI Confidence: 95%
$24.00 - $30.00 USD
90/100Outstanding
Sophie's Take
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Grape Varieties
100% Aligote Dore
Style: At its core, the 2022 Domaine Laurent Dufouleur Bouzeron is a study in precision over power. Evaluated through the BLIC framework, it strikes a nervy balance: the wine's moderate 12.5% alcohol and high, bracing acidity dictate its lean, taut frame, while fruit ripeness is decidedly secondary to structural cut. Intensity is moderate, focused squarely on linear tension and mineral drive rather than aromatic volume. The complexity is relatively constrained to a narrow but articulate bandwidth of green apple, white floral notes, and a chalky grip, and the length is strictly medium, leaving a snappy, clean finish that demands food but lacks prolonged resonance. Typicity is spot-on for Cote Chalonnaise Aligote, specifically the prized Aligote Dore variant, delivering exactly the lip-smacking salinity and limestone energy expected from the Bouzeron appellation. In the regional hierarchy, this sits firmly in the value tier of Bouzeron. When compared to peers like Domaine A. & P. de Villaine, Domaine Paul et Marie Jacqueson, and Domaine Chanzy, the Dufouleur prioritizes immediate, uncomplicated accessibility. What this wine does better than Chanzy is offer a slightly more chiseled, nervy baseline without heavy lees masking the fruit. However, both de Villaine and Jacqueson do substantially better at delivering mid-palate density, structural ageability, and long-lasting finish; the Dufouleur simply does not have the dry extract to compete with those benchmark estates. This wine is emphatically not for drinkers seeking the plush, buttery weight or toasted oak profile of mainstream Chardonnay. By choosing this Aligote, buyers trade textural richness and palate-coating concentration for angularity, refreshment, and strict linearity. If you want a white Burgundy with broader shoulders and honeyed depth at a similar price point, a reliable Macon-Villages from Domaine de la Bongran or an entry-level Pouilly-Fuisse from Domaine J.A. Ferret would serve you far better.
Alcohol: 12.5%
Tasting Notes
Medium-minus body driven by high, jagged acidity that defines the initial palate entry, rather than fruit weight.
The mid-palate shows a distinct saline edge and crushed oyster shell minerality, buffered by a slight leesy texture.
Aromatic intensity is moderate but precise, opening with tense notes of tart Granny Smith apple and white flowers.
Finish length is moderate, fading gracefully after about 15 seconds, leaving a residual bite of lime pith and raw almond that betrays its modest concentration.
Professional Ratings
James Suckling: 90/100
Serving Recommendations
Temperature: 10-12 C / 50-54 F. Do not over-chill to fridge temperature, or the delicate chalky texture will be permanently muted.
Decanting: Open and pour. No decanting is necessary, though 15 minutes in the glass will gently release its tightly wound white floral notes.
Food Pairing:
Classic: Freshly shucked Kumamoto oysters, perfectly mirroring the wine's saline cut.
Classic: Warm Gruyere gougeres, where the sharp acidity slices perfectly through the rich cheese.
Classic: Poached sole fillet in a light herb and white wine broth to match the delicate body weight.
Surprising: Goat cheese and green apple tart, matching the wine's malic acid profile.
Surprising: Salty pork belly bites with lime, where the high acid acts as a strict palate cleanser.
AVOID: Slow-cooked beef and tomato ragu. The wine's lean frame will be crushed, and the acids will clash.
Classic: Truite aux amandes (trout with almonds), highlighting the wine's subtle bitter almond finish.
Winemaking & Vineyard
Production Notes:
The Dufouleur name carries centuries of Burgundian baggage, tracing back to 1596 in the Cote de Nuits. The name itself literally derives from le fouleur, the historical worker who treads the grapes. Yet, the modern iteration of Domaine Laurent Dufouleur is relatively recent, born in 2016 as a specialized 17-hectare offshoot under the umbrella of the larger Mercurey-based merchant Maison L. Tramier et Fils. The quiet controversy here is one of scale and soul: can a historic negociant family pivot to produce terroir-driven, artisanal AOC wines, or is it merely a premium label masking volume-driven habits? While the domaine touts its HVE Level 3 sustainability and 400-year legacy, strict critics note the wines often reflect a safe, highly polished merchant philosophy rather than the thrilling, risk-taking edge of a true micro-domaine. Harvested at full ripeness in the second week of September, the 2022 fruit was rapidly transported to the winery. After gentle pneumatic pressing, the must was settled and transferred entirely to temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Fermentation was steady, lasting ten days to retain primary esters. There is no oak influence whatsoever; the wine is aged for roughly 12 months on its fine lees in steel before a light filtration to stabilize the electric acidity of the Aligote Dore clone. Honest verdict: Sitting firmly at a 15 on the Robinson scale, this is a clean, competent, and highly distinguished everyday-drinker that delivers solid regional character, even if it lacks the soul and concentration of a true benchmark.
Vineyard Details:
Sourced from 17 hectares managed by the historic Maison L. Tramier et Fils, this Bouzeron hails from steep, east and south-east facing hillsides situated at 270 to 350 meters in altitude. The vines explicitly straddle the respected climats of 'Les Bouchines' and 'Les Loueres.' The soil here is dominated by weakly calcareous white marls, historically called 'maille' in Old French, sitting over a solid limestone bedrock. The domaine employs HVE Level 3 (Haute Valeur Environnementale) sustainable farming practices, focusing on mechanical weed control and encouraging biodiversity to moderate the natural vigor of the vineyard. The mandatory use of the golden-skinned Aligote Dore clone, rather than the higher-yielding, less aromatic Aligote Vert common elsewhere in standard Bourgogne Aligote, is strictly enforced by the Bouzeron AOC rules and fundamentally shapes this specific vineyard's low-yield, high-quality output.
Awards & Accolades
• James Suckling - 90 Points (2022 Vintage)
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