Alcohol: 13.5%
Grape(s): Chardonnay
Localization: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Tasting notes: This chardonnay has a lovely taste combination of pear, apple, lemon with the integrated nuance of vanilla and toast. The contact from the yeast provides a nice yeasty bread-like component as well. The nice acidity from this site helps the wine age, and it needs about two years in bottle before it starts to show itself.
Notes: Grown on our exclusive site in Purcellville, situated in Loudon County, this chardonnay has consistently been one of the best chardonnays in Virginia. The vineyard is situated on a south-east slope with light soils in a cool climate growing condition. The chardonnay grapes at this vineyard ripen two weeks later than the chardonnay around the Charlottesville area, which allows the ripening to occur in late September, which comes with cooler night time temperatures helping the vines preserve the acidity inside the grapes.
Barrel fermented in 50% new French Oak, aged 12 months
The Domain: Originally founded in 2004 as Maison Shaps & Roucher-Serrazin, Michael Shaps took over ownership in 2012, changed the name to Maison Shaps, and focused on producing high-end Burgundian wine. Continuing with the same philosophy as before, Maison Shaps is a small garage-iste winery producing less than 12,000 bottles per year from Burgundy’s finest appellations and vineyard sites including some premier crus.
In 2017 Michael and two partners took a big leap and purchased vineyards in and around Pommard, including some grand cru designated plots. Michael crafts these wines by traditional Burgundian techniques. His objective is to make authentic wines that exemplify the rich heritage of the Burgundian villages.
From natural gravity flow to process the grapes, to native yeast fermentations and minimal filtrations, the style of winemaking at Maison Shaps strives for minimal manipulation of the grapes. Maison Shaps exemplifies the adage “The wines are made in the vineyard,” allowing for the true character of the region to be evoked in the wine.
These artisanal-style wines are exported to the United States where they are sold on the East Coast and at Michael Shaps Wineworks.
