Vezelay L'Elégante 2023 Domaine de la Croix Montjoie

The Vézelay L'Élégante 2023 from Domaine de la Croix Montjoie is the domaine's signature cuvée and most ambitious white wine, crowned by the Guide Hachette des Vins 2025 as the standout vintage of 2023. L'Élégante lives up to its name. Gentle oak ageing brings character to this generous cuvée, round and tense at once, offering abundant fruit and lovely tangy freshness on the finish. Scored 91/100 by Revue du Vin de France on the 2020 vintage, elected Burgundy Wine of the Year by Magazine Bourgogne Aujourd'hui, ranked by Tim Atkin MW in his Top 25 Burgundy domaines to follow.

Terroir and vineyards

The Vézelay vineyard stretches either side of the Cure, a tributary of the Yonne, across clay-limestone hillsides with stony soils rich in fossils, oriented south and south-east, offering Chardonnay ideal conditions for slow, progressive ripening. This terroir, classified as an appellation communale de Bourgogne in 2017 thanks notably to Sophie and Matthieu Woillez's commitment, is establishing itself as one of the most precious addresses in northern Burgundy's vineyards. L'Élégante comes from a selection of the domaine's finest Chardonnay parcels, on clay-limestone stony soils with full south-east exposure between 200 and 300 metres altitude. Organic conversion has been underway since 2018. Harvesting is manual, with selective sorting parcel by parcel. Winemaking reflects the domaine's philosophy: gentle pressing, racking, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel for 75 per cent and in five-year-old oak barrels for 25 per cent, nine months' ageing on fine lees. This precise blend of vat and old oak is L'Élégante's founding stylistic choice: the vat brings freshness, purity and vibrancy; the old barrel, without new wood influence, adds body, depth and subtle aromatic complexity without ever masking the terroir.

Tasting profile

The colour is a pale grey-green with luminous glints, limpid and crystalline. The nose is delicate and inviting, with aniseed florals and enticing rhubarb notes, subtle aromas of hazelnut, lemon, white flowers and a light flint touch that marks the terroir's chalky signature. With aeration, the generous, juicy character and yellow fruits, nectarine and white peach, emerge progressively with lovely openness. On the palate, the texture is ample and round, generous without weight, supported by lovely tangy freshness and well-integrated mineral tension that structures the whole with elegance. Fine bitterness on the finish brings character and length to a wine of remarkable balance. Character and elegance define this Vézelay, ticking every excellence box. Drink between 2026 and 2030 according to Guide Hachette.

The domaine

Founded in 2009 by Sophie and Matthieu Woillez, both agronomists and oenologists, Domaine de la Croix Montjoie established itself within a few years as the absolute reference and leading light of the Vézelay appellation. Their 13-hectare vineyard is planted mainly with Chardonnay on a hillside facing Vézelay's eternal hill and basilica, classified as UNESCO World Heritage. The domaine occupies the former farm of the Tharoiseau château, whose name evokes the old cross at the junction between Vézelay and Tharoiseau, where pilgrims first glimpsed the basilica and were filled with joy.

Food pairing

This Vézelay L'Élégante pairs beautifully with steamed scallops, fish terrine with fresh herbs, grilled fish with beurre blanc, poultry in light cream, asparagus and parmesan risotto or a plate of fresh goat cheeses such as Sainte-Maure de Touraine. Served between 11 and 12°C, lightly aerated in a carafe, it will reveal all the fruity generosity, mineral tension and natural elegance of a Chardonnay from the domaine that brought this appellation to worldwide recognition.