Bourgogne Tonnerre

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Wine Characteristics

The wines are yellow or pale green, with hints of silver. The nose recalls lemon zest, acacia blossom, pear, peach, fennel, stone fruits, and almond, sometimes with notes of pineapple and passion fruit. It is fleshy and fresh in the mouth, with good length punctuated by touches of saline, lemon, aniseed, and licorice aromas. These wines are balanced, rounded, smooth, and mineral, with a velvety sensation mid-mouth.

Wine Steward’s Tip

The lemony and saline freshness of these wines is best suited to simple, marine dishes like oysters and other seafood, sushi, and fish or seafood tartare, served as a meal or as tapas. More mature vintages partner well with steamed fish, risotto, and vegetable dishes, surf’n’turf, creamy cheeses, and poultry in sauce or even foie gras for the most intrepid!

Serving temperature: 12-14°C.
Keeping potential: 3-5 years.

Situation

The vineyard of Bourgogne Tonnerre is located on hillsides on either side of the river Armançon, a tributary of the river Yonne.

From the 10th century onwards, the monks of the abbeys of Quincy, near Tanlay, and Saint Michel, near Tonnerre, intensified and improved winegrowing practices. The Knight of Éon, a noble from Tonnerre and diplomat under Louis XV, also used wines from Tonnerre to loosen tongues in capital cities across Europe.

Since 1987, men and women have been breathing new life into this ancient winegrowing region. 

Terroirs

The vineyard of Bourgogne Tonnerre is mainly located at the entrance to several southeast-facing valleys, at between 200-300m above sea level.

The Chardonnay grape flourishes on marl-limestone formations from the Kimmeridgean and limestone from the Portlandian eras, laid down between 152-142 million years ago, during the Upper Jurassic. It is this geology that is responsible for the light-colored pebbly soil.

Appellations Régionales, explained by Jean-Pierre Renard

Food and wine pairing