Marie Bérenice Bererd, Bourgogne Blanc, "Marie Bé"

If your particular weakness in white Burgundy is generous fruit, soft texture, and inviting perfume, then 2023 is an ideal vintage for drinking young. 2023’s warm growing season gave Chardonnay the opportunity to develop wonderfully expressive fruit, and at the Bourgogne level that translates into exactly the kind of wine I want to open right now: less about austerity, profundity and long-term cellar potential, and more about immediate, mouth-filling pleasure. Marie Bé is essentially a happy mood in a bottle a rush of ripe yellow apple, pear and Mirabelle plum, followed by white flowers, citrus and enough freshness to keep all that fruit positively buoyant. There is something almost impossible not to like about Chardonnay in this register: generous without being heavy, sunny without being soft, and aromatic without sacrificing the quiet mineral energy that tells you you're still drinking Burgundy. This is the bottle you open when a stiff dinner needs a little extra help to become a dinner party.

The origins of the wine make that personality even more interesting. Rather than coming from the famous limestone corridor of the Côte d'Or, the Chardonnay is grown considerably farther south, near Le Perréon, in the hills of the Beaujolais region. This is a dramatically beautiful country, with vineyards climbing steep slopes to unusually high elevations and looking eastward across the broad Saône plain toward the Alps. Chardonnay remains a relative rarity among the ocean of Gamay planted here, but that is precisely what makes it so compelling. The combination of altitude, exposure and the region's distinctive geology can give Chardonnay an entirely different accent from the Côte de Beaune: more overtly fruity and floral, perhaps, but still energetic and wonderfully transparent.

The real surprise lies beneath the vines. Around Le Perréon, the soils are dominated not by Burgundy's familiar limestone but by decomposed pink granite, the same broad geological family responsible for some of the great terroirs of neighboring cru Beaujolais. Chardonnay grown on these cool, elevated granite slopes can be fascinating. Instead of the overt chalkiness we associate with Chablis or the Côte de Beaune, there is a different sort of mineral sensation—a firm, stony freshness running beneath succulent orchard fruit. A naturally cool, north-facing slope further preserves acidity and aromatic definition, giving the wine exactly the tension it needs. It is an excellent reminder that Bourgogne Blanc is a wonderfully broad category: Chardonnay's Burgundian identity doesn't end when the limestone disappears.

Mushroom quiche is exactly the sort of quietly luxurious food I want alongside it. The custard and pastry require a Chardonnay with enough breadth to stand up to butter, cream and eggs, while the mushrooms introduce an earthy, savory dimension that prevents the combination from becoming overly rich. Marie Bé's generous 2023 fruit meets the creamy center of the quiche beautifully, while its acidity cuts through the pastry and refreshes the palate after each bite. Mushrooms also have a wonderful ability to pull Chardonnay away from its obvious fruit and toward subtler flavors of earth, nuts and herbs. Add a little Gruyère, Comté, thyme or caramelized shallot to the quiche and the pairing becomes even better: comforting, savory and unmistakably French.

Serve the 2023 Marie Bérenice Bererd “Marie Bé” Bourgogne Blanc at 52°F in a large Burgundy stem, allowing it to warm gradually in the glass rather than serving it refrigerator-cold. Its appearance is a bright, youthful straw-gold with flashes of green. The aromas are immediately inviting: ripe yellow apple, pear, Mirabelle plum and lemon give way to acacia blossom, honeysuckle, fresh herbs and a subtle stony note, with the warm vintage providing an especially generous sense of fruit. The palate is supple and mouth-filling but wonderfully fresh, with juicy orchard fruit and citrus carried by lively acidity and a fine mineral tension; yellow plum and apple linger through a clean, gently savory finish. Mushroom quiche plays directly into that balance. The buttery pastry and custard broaden the wine's texture, the mushrooms tease out its earthy and mineral dimensions, and the Chardonnay's acidity prevents the combination from ever becoming ponderous. It is one of those wonderfully uncomplicated pairings in which everything simply tastes better together—and perfectly suited to a white Burgundy whose greatest virtue is the sheer happiness of drinking it.