Famille Paquet Macon-Villages / 2025 / 750mL

The Famille Paquet Mâcon-Villages 2024 is a dry white Chardonnay from the Mâconnais in southern Burgundy, made in a bright, unfussy style that puts fruit and freshness first. Expect a wine with clarity and a little chalky grip rather than richness.

Aromas lean towards white peach, lemon pith and green apple, with a faint note of almond and orchard blossom sitting behind the fruit. There is nothing heavy about it on the nose; the appeal is in the lift. The palate follows that line closely, with citrus and nashi pear carried on fine acidity and a subtle saline edge through the middle. Texture is light to medium, the mouthfeel clean rather than creamy, and the finish dries off with a squeeze of lemon and a touch of flinty mineral bite.

Pour it with grilled flathead, prawn linguine, chicken and tarragon, or a wedge of young goat's cheese with crusty bread. It also does good work alongside a plate of freshly shucked oysters on a warm afternoon.

Drink the Mâcon-Villages 2024 from now through to around 2028, while the citrus fruit is still taut and the acidity is doing its job.

Serve it well chilled but not icy, around 10 to 12 degrees, so the texture has room to show.