2014 Domaine Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Blanc 750 ml

Truly Inspired Under-$20 White Burgundy

We’ve been saying this all year, and we’ll say it again: We’ve never seen a vintage quite like 2014. Stephen Tanzer, whose knowledge of the producers, villages, and vineyards of Burgundy is unparalleled, declared: “For lovers of classic white Burgundies, 2014 is clearly a vintage to buy.” Wine Spectator came in with a whopping 93-96 rating and raved that it was potentially the GREATEST vintage since the epic 1985 harvest.

In Côte de Beaune, the 2014 vintage gave birth to Chardonnays of deep concentration and impeccable balance, the best of which will age effortlessly well into the 2030s. Chablis turned out wines that were pitch-perfect with their wet-stone minerality and racy, lemon-zest flavors.

But if we were to pick one wine route where 2014 shined the brightest, the Mâconnais would be at the top of our list. Benefiting from the area’s complex argilo-calcaire soils, the top cellars — Corsin, Terres de Chatenay, Cordier, and Bonhomme — turned out some of their greatest White Burgundies in decades. And to the delight of bargain-hunters, producers like the small, 20-acre, and family-run Domaine Bernard Moreau, perched on east-facing slopes of clay-limestone soil in the village of Mancey at the northern limits of the Mâconnais, released some of the best values in the whole region.

Why is the 2014 White Burgundy vintage perhaps the highest-rated harvest since Michael Jordan won Rookie of the Year?

Despite a brutal hailstorm that nearly decimated Meursault and Pommard in late June, the Mâconnais was largely spared. July was mixed, riding the seesaw between hot sunshine and chilly, cloudy days. August was particularly cool, with daytime highs barely sneaking into the 70s, and by the end of the month the vines were behind schedule.

The vintage, the vignerons all agreed, would be made or broken in the first weeks of September. And as luck would have it, the morning of September 1st was glorious. Daytime highs crept back into the 80s under gorgeous blue skies, conditions that would last for the better part of two weeks. Sugars spiked as acids remained firm. Quality was pristine.

When Bernard Moreau decided to harvest in the second week of September, yields were down nearly 30% from the norm, making for a limited production of one of the most stunning under-$20 White Burgundies you’ll ever sip and swirl.

Bernard Moreau has been in charge of his 20-acre family domaine since 1982. Nearly half of the estate is planted to Chardonnay with an average of 20-year-old vines. For his 2014 Bourgogne Blanc, Moreau draws from two superb vineyard parcels with distinct soils. One has pure, white limestone soil — so pure that the limestone is almost clear. This gives the wine a ratchet-tight, chalky minerality. The other has a stony, red clay soil with southeast exposure that ensures optimal ripening and gives the wine a fleshy and rich texture. It is the combination of both parcels that makes the Moreau Bourgogne Blanc at once rich, concentrated, fresh, and complex. This is an extraordinary feat for a wine that costs $19.99.

The 2014 Domaine Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Blanc is clear, bright yellow with aromas of yellow flower, orange zest, beeswax, and baking spices. The palate has pitch-perfect balance with flavors of lemon rind, baked apple, and chalky mineral notes. The finish is long with mouthwatering citrus verve. Drink over the next 5 years.

If you’re a fan of rich, juicy, HIGHLY mineral Chardonnay, you’re already attuned to the exceptional 2014 vintage. And if you’re constantly on the search for truly inspired, under-$20 white Burgundy, the 2014 Domaine Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Blanc is just what the doctor ordered. Just $19.99 today, only from WineAccess. 480 bottles. CASE-BUY.