Andre Bonhomme Vin de France Botrytis Chardonnay 2020

Domaine André Bonhomme, considered a pioneer in improving the quality of Villers-Cresse in the Mâcon region, was founded in 1956 by André Bonhomme, grandfather of current owner Aurélien Partet. At the time, the Mâcon and Villers were considered casual wine regions, not recognized as high-quality wine regions. Prior to founding the domaine, the Bonhomme family made a living selling grapes to the Cave Cooperative. After the establishment of the domaine, the winery introduced early barrel aging and extended pre-shipment aging to add complexity to the fruity style of the Mâcon region, aiming for a higher-quality "Côte d'Or-like wine," gradually improving its quality. In the 1960s and 1970s, André Bonhomme began to attract requests from Michelin-starred restaurants. Since then, André Bonhomme has been known as a small but excellent Mâcon-Villers producer.

This cuvée is an extremely sweet Rosé wine made from late-harvest Chardonnay grapes from the Cantaine vineyard, the southernmost vineyard in the village of Virey. The 2020 harvest began on November 10th, when botrytis (noble rot) reached its peak. This wine is only produced in excellent years, such as 2018 and 2020, when healthy, fruit-rich grapes were abundant.
This wine is made from grapes from a 30-year-old plot in Cantaine. It's on a south-facing slope with a thin clay-limestone topsoil. It has an alcohol potential of 22%. It was fermented for 12 months with natural yeast and then aged for 30 months in old barrels. It has a high residual sugar of 120g, but also has a refreshing acidity.