2016 Esprit de Chardonnay Marc de Bourgogne, Domaine Guillemot-Michel

Sophie Guillemot-Michel and her husband Gautier work full-time with her parents at their top-quality, biodynamic domaine in the Mâconnais. Marc de Bourgogne is a traditional Burgundian eau de vie that is now only rarely produced. The Guillemot-Michel`s example is made exclusively from Chardonnay grape skins, left in the press once they have drawn off the juice for their delicious still white wines. These are distilled over a wood fire for 4 hours – we were told by Gautier that 10kg of grape skins are required to make just 1 bottle of Esprit de Chardonnay. The distillate goes on to age in old French oak barrels for 4 years, prior to bottling. The result is the most stunning, pure example of Marc de Bourgogne. This 2016 vintage is very pale gold colour, having aromas of almonds, apricots, lemon peel and smoky spice. Creamily textured and aromatically complex on the palate, we highly recommend pouring it on its own as an elegant digestif or with a square of high quality dark chocolate.