There are few white wine producers in Burgundy—or anywhere—more revered than Hubert Lamy. The family has tended vines since 1640, but it’s under Olivier Lamy’s stewardship that the domaine has become one of the most thrilling names in the region. Working largely in Saint-Aubin—a once-overlooked appellation now prized for its altitude and cooling winds—Olivier has proven that greatness doesn’t always reside where tradition says it should.

Saint-Aubin’s cooler slopes, funneled by a dramatic combe, offer the kind of natural air-conditioning that today’s warmer vintages desperately need. In Olivier’s hands, this terroir becomes electric. He pushes boundaries in the vineyard, planting at dizzying densities—30,000 vines per hectare—forcing the roots to dive deep and struggle in competition. The payoff is immense: chardonnays that are pure tension and grace, etched with stony precision and luminous energy.

Fermented and aged in large-format barrels with minimal new oak, the wines are never dressed in wood. They speak fluently in the language of their site—steep, rocky, cool. Farming is meticulous and organic. And the wines? They’ve become some of the most coveted in Burgundy, snapped up by those who understand that elegance born of hardship is the most beautiful kind of reward.

Les Macherelles is a 1er cru site of .16 hectares of chardonnay planted in 1988 on an east-facing slope of shallow red clay over a limestone bedrock. After hand harvesting, the grapes are crushed and pressed and the juice is allowed to settle overnight. Fermentation takes place with ambient yeasts. The wine ages for 24 months on the lees in 300 liter and 600 liter barrels of partially used oak before aging an additional 6 months in tank. Sulfur is only added during aging. The wine is bushels of pear and sweet orange oil, toasted hazelnuts, iodine, and stone. There is a stunning tension.