Chateau Pougelon Beaujolais Blanc Pierres Dorees 2023

Beaujolais is famous for Gamay, but its secret weapon has always been Chardonnay—especially when it comes from the Pierres Dorées in the south.
While northern Beaujolais gets all the glory for its granite-rich Cru reds, the southern Pierres Dorées (“golden stones”) is defined by clay-limestone soils. Geologically, it’s far closer to the famous slopes of the Côte de Beaune than the rest of the region, making it absolute prime real estate for Chardonnay.

Château de Pougelon sits right at the foot of Mont Brouilly, with roots tracing all the way back to 1662. Today, it’s run by the fifth generation of the Descombe family, who have quietly turned the property into a model for organic farming and agroforestry (planting native trees around the vines to foster biodiversity and buffer against extreme weather).
Their Pierres Dorées parcel is farmed organically, harvested entirely by hand, and fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel. But where things get really interesting is the aging process: the wine spends 14 months on its fine lees, split half-and-half between stainless steel and ovoid concrete tanks.

It’s these concrete egg-shaped tanks that act like a pressure-free playground for wine—allowing micro-oxygenation without adding any wood flavor, building a satiny texture while keeping the mineral tension high.

If you’re tired of over-oaked Chardonnay but don’t want something completely stripped-down and raw, this hits the bullseye.