Montagny Reconnaissance 2024 Domaine Aline Beauné

The Montagny Reconnaissance 2024 from Domaine Aline Beauné is the most personal and moving cuvée from a domaine whose rising trajectory has impressed even the most discerning observers. Born with the 2022 vintage, Reconnaissance marks a return to origins: it comes from a parcel in the heart of Saint-Vallerin village, just beside the house of Aline's grandmother, where everything began in her own words. A Chardonnay aged entirely in a custom-selected Alsatian foudre, of a purity and minerality that speaks with absolute sincerity the story of a family and its terroir.

Terroir and the vines

The Reconnaissance parcel sits at the heart of Saint-Vallerin village, on the argilo-calcareous soils characteristic of Montagny, a Burgundy appellation exclusively dedicated to white Chardonnay. This plain and mid-slope terroir, well-drained and well-exposed, has been worked by Aline's family for generations, passed from her great-grandfather to her mother, and then taken on by Aline herself in 2018 when the farm lease reached its end. The family and memorial dimension of this parcel lies at the heart of the cuvée's identity: Reconnaissance is both gratitude to those who worked this land before her, and recognition of a terroir deserving to be expressed in all its singularity. Viticulture is conducted under certified organic conversion with some biodynamic practices. Vinification is the purest and most restrained of the range: complete ageing in a large-format Alsatian foudre, chosen specifically to encourage slow, progressive micro-oxygenation without new oak influence. This choice of Alsatian foudre is a fundamental stylistic decision: it allows the wine to age on its fine lees for several months with natural protection, never marked by oak, leaving terroir and cépage to express themselves in their most absolute purity.

Tasting profile

The colour is pale gold with green reflections, clear and crystalline, striking in its clarity and visual freshness. The nose is of remarkable finesse and purity, directly inherited from ageing in oak-free foudre: aromas of delicate white fruits, pear, green apple and citrus open with natural frankness and spontaneity, accompanied by delicate floral notes and fine, precise chalky minerality. The absence of new oak lets cépage and terroir express themselves in complete integrity, with an aromatic freshness and lightness that recalls great high-altitude or back-slope Chardonnay expressions. On the palate, the texture is silky and delicate, supported by lively natural acidity that is well-integrated, bringing tension and length. The matter is light and precise, with fine chalky minerality that moves across the palate with elegance. The finish is clean, fresh and persistent, with that return of lemon and wet stone that is the absolute signature of a Chardonnay from Montagny aged without artifice.

The domaine

Aline Beauné founded her domaine in 2018 at Montagny-lès-Buxy, after fifteen years overseeing vinification at Château de la Crée in Santenay. A graduate in oenology from Dijon, she immediately engaged organic conversion and some biodynamic practices to vitalize the soils. On 5.5 hectares carefully tended between Saint-Vallerin and Montagny, she produces wines of a coherence and precision that quickly impressed Jancis Robinson MW, who identifies her as a producer absolutely worth watching.

Food pairing

This Montagny Reconnaissance pairs beautifully with scallops steamed in their shells, river fish cooked en papillote with fresh herbs, sole meunière, white asparagus with mousseline sauce, wild mushroom risotto, or fresh goat cheese like Chabichou or aged Crottin. Served between 10 and 12°C, it will reveal all the mineral purity, natural freshness and sincerity of a Montagny Chardonnay aged in absolute respect for the family terroir that gave it birth.