Your New Favorite White Burgundy Isn’t From France

My new favorite white burgundy isn’t from France.

I am predicting that your new favorite white burgundy isn’t from France.

Read it again. I wrote it, I know what it says, and I mean it.

What would you say if I told you my new favorite white burgundy is actually made in Chile? Is that sacrilege? Maybe, but there’s a good reason.

This is where Aristos enters the chat. The brainchild of François Massoc, born to French parents but in Chile, the prodigal son ventured to get his Enology degree in Dijon and that process would forever alter the path of his winemaking life. Francois connected with Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, the mind behind Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair which was started in 2000. Their time together while in Dijon opened the door to taking the generations of focus on Chardonnay in Burgundy, and applying it to the terroir of Chile. The stage was set, and Aristos was born.

This story intersects with Phillip Braunstein, Ph.D., a dual citizen of the United States of America & Chile who owns a commercial and residential property development company in the city of Los Angeles. Braunstein found himself dining at one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants during a trip to Santiago, Chile. The memorable mel at Boragó , currently ranked #29 in the world, produced a line-in-the-sand moment. A standout wine was served by the restaurant's sommelier, and a new obsession was born. Braunstein remembers being told that the rosé in the wine pairing was made by a relatively mysterious winemaker who used extended oak aging to produce this unique Chilean rosé. Braunstein was hooked and needed to know more. In that moment, he decided that he'd be visiting Aristos on an upcoming visit to Chile.

The stage was set, the appointment was made.

But we'll get back to that.

When I met Phillip for dinner earlier this year, I learned quickly how he rolls. He enjoys the finer things, is kind to his server, and is open to recommendations. The answer is yes, but he has questions. And good ones. I can only imagine the first meeting between he and winemaker François Massoc, where midway through, he tells François he wants to buy all of the rosé he produces . That's a showstopper statement. CHECK PLEASE. A relationship was being forged, and the energy had to be palpable.

Imagine for a moment, from a winemaker's perspective—someone new comes to your facility to meet and taste your wine—and they tell you they want to buy every bottle of a particular wine you produce. It's a jarring yet humbling and exciting opportunity. But it also begs a lot of questions...like, what about my other wines? Turns out, François Massoc makes incredible Cabernet Sauvignon, and a possibly even more earth-shattering Chardonnay. I'm here to confess. This could be the best Chardonnay I've tasted in over a decade.

As a lover of white burgundy throughout my career, my eyes are forever open to inspired Chardonnays produced in the French style from any and all locales. When I dug my nose into the glass for the first time, my sense memory took me directly to Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. Integration of oak is an ever delicate matter, but someone who studied at one of the greatest Enology schools on earth and started the winery as a partnership with Louis-Michel Liger-Belair will challenge your perception. Kaffir lime, verbena & lilac, lemon curd, flint, Marzipan, a dream come true. Digging your nose into an assault of florals, minerality, confectionary notes, and oak integration usually takes your sense memory to only one place...BURGUNDY. But this is what's magical about our currently wine landscape. The cover song has become as enjoyable as the original.

Get to know the mind behind the wine

A Q&A with François Massoc

MK: You made wine in Israel, Alsace, and Bolivia before settling in Chile. What is it about the Chilean landscape that got your attention and kept it?

François Massoc: “ Chile is the paradise for vineyards ” …was the main title of a viticulture class when I was studying in the Institut de la Vigne et du Vin in the Burgundy University…In my opinion and expertise this is true. I’ve never seen another place in the world with the natural conditions of Chile, 250 years old plants, dry farming, with almost no diseases or bugs (you will never find phylloxera, mildiou [ Downy mildew] , flavescence dorée, etc…) to all that you need to add wonderful climate and a great geological heterogeneity.

But on top of all those good reasons is that my wife and I were born in this country that we love. Even if we are sons and grandsons of French immigrants, we feel Chilean. We met in France, but we got married in Chile, we decided to stay in Chile to build our family and our projects there .

MK: Your Aristos Chardonnay reminds me so much of White Burgundy. What did you learn while studying in Burgundy that allowed you to craft such a specific style of Chardonnay in Chile?

François Massoc: What I’ve learned in Burgundy was to respect the grapes and the origin of it. I learned to be patient, to take all the time that the wine needs to express the best of its nature. I also learned how to select all the elements that can help to achieve this goal, from a very clean viticulture to crafting my own barrels, selecting the right forest to the right toasting, depending on every year. I’m lucky to be a cooper too. I prefer to say that the style of Chardonnay that I make in Chile is a style that looks to put all the best elements that I can find from the barrel to the bottle. I try to find the best that nature gives us every year, gathering all the elements (specially time) to get a great wine, very focused in typicity, elegance, complexity and longevity…less is more…

MK: How does a País vine at 250 years of age handle changes in climate and temperature shifts?

François Massoc: A 250-year-old vine has a very robust and deep system of roots. It’s very hard to measure how deep those roots can go. We just need to think that those vines were already planted before the US independence, French revolution, Chile’s independence… I’m sure that the plant knows what to do and already found a natural equilibrium. Those plants only need from men to be pruned and to be harvested for getting the great grapes that we use to make a unique wine .

MK: How do old vines act differently in Chile than in France or other countries you've worked?

François Massoc: I’ve never seen plants as old as I’ve seen in Chile. One of the greatest things that I’ve seen in grape plants is that they adapt and act differently all over the world. Even if they share the same variety, the same genetics, the plant will react differently and give different wines… That’s maybe the greatest thing that grapes and wines all over the world can give… that’s why the wine is never going to be a commodity, that’s why I refuse to say that one wine is better than another, they are all different, the best wine is the one that each person chooses or the one that is right now in your glass .

MK: What excites you most about the next 10 years of viticulture in Chile?

François Massoc: I’m sure that the next 10, 50, 100 years… are going to be great for Chilean viticulture! We have great natural conditions for making high quality grapes and wines. If you look in a big part of traditional wine producers in Europe and US, they are suffering big climate problems. In fact, I highly recommend for wine producers all over the world to taste with more attention (and less prejudice) Chilean wines and to come and see how viticulture and wines are made in Chile. I’m sure that they’ll find excellent conditions to invest.

Aristos wines are currently available in Los Angeles at Baltaire Restaurant & Steakhouse and at Crustacean Beverly Hills . The patchwork of their availability will continue to grow as Phillip Braunstein, Ph.D. expands his new import company across the city of Los Angeles and the legend of François Massoc's wines further permeates the wine industry.

Visit aristos.cl to learn more about Aristos & François Massoc.