Chablis 2022

Mont de Milieu, the mountain in the middle, historically marked the frontier between Burgundy and Champagne. It has a south-facing aspect - rare in Chablis - and this wine expresses the flamboyant side of Chardonnay grown in a sunny spot in a cool climate. The old vines have produced a wine bursting with apricots and peaches; it’s like the fruit has been supercharged here. On the palate there is a pronounced chalky freshness which wraps around the gourmand fruit. Intense, salty, and voluminous.

Droin’s Vosgros is always one of the most striking and characterful wines at the domaine. It is vinified and raised exclusively in stainless steel: Benoît wants to preserve the energy and Chablisienne nature of the wine. It has a notable drive, but also an ample volume, twinned with delicious purity. It has wonderful intensity on the palate, with lemon verbena and orange pith notes.

Valmur is pressed up against Les Clos; the contour of its slope, where much faces northwest, make it slightly cooler than other parts of the grand cru. The 2022 is like a stiff sea breeze, laced with salt and an iodine freshness. The scintillating line of acidity running through its length is tied to some fascinating orange blossom notes, making it one of the most complex in the vintage’s line up.

Montmains is on the same slope of the left bank as Vaillons, but has deeper clay soils, and typically produces a rounder wine with more weight. The clay in the soils make it a cooler site, and it often gets picked last. This makes for a really quite burgundian style of wine, as in, it wouldn’t be impossible to mistake it for something from the Côte d’Or if tasting blind. But that little kick of oyster shell which whips around the fruit gives it away as Chablis.

Benoît’s village Chablis is one of the best (the best?) out there, and is always a fast seller. It has a strong following of fans who return to it year after year for its great value and high quality. It’s packed with fruit, and has an energy and persistence that propels it across the palate. There’s a nice chalky freshness and zingy lift.

This is a blend of five terroirs across the steep Vaillons premier cru (out of a possible total of eight). Blending gives Benoît the chance to introduce freshness, with higher acid fruit running through the riper parcels. The 2022 is gorgeously floral, as great Vaillons tends to be in its youth. It’s an elegant wine with classical balance. As usual 25% was fermented and aged in old oak, and though it’s hugely appealing right from the get-go, this should age beautifully as well.

As ever, this is the pinnacle of the Droin wines, and one of the finest grand cru cuvées in Chablis. Benoît says it needs 20 years to reach its peak. I’ll keep my drink dates a little earlier, though I’ve no doubt the wine could peak at 20 years if you have the patience. It is tight and nervous, with weighty power underneath. The special name of this cuvée is in celebration of Louis Droin, who bought this parcel in 1920. The three vintages of 2020, 2021, and 2022 all carry Hommage à Louis on their labels. The powers that be briefly redrew the boundaries, but have since admitted their error, and it’s hoped from the 2023 vintage the label Les Clos can be fully reinstated.

Vaudésir sits at the top of the grand cru hill, and enjoys a steep incline, making it one of the sunnier spots in the grand cru. This 2022 has so much nutty intensity and precision, giving it density and drive on the palate. It’s got a great texture, with stone fruit concentration laced with grilled hazelnuts. This will drink well from early on, though its drinking window should not be underestimated.

This cuvée was new to us in 2021, although Samuel has been making it since 2016. It sees Samuel with his négociant hat on, sourcing some excellent grapes from Mâcon and making a citrus fresh and zingy Chardonnay.

This comes from three parcels, which are spread across the top, middle, and bottom sections of the premier cru. It is straight and incisive, with a concentrated, saline flicker on the finish. There’s a nice balance between fruit and minerality in this premier cru.

Preuses is famous for its minerality, derived from its chalky soils. In Samuel’s hands it delivers this typicity in spades. It is tense and refined, with a razor-like edge to the acidity.

Séchet is a lieu-dit within the Vaillons premier cru, which is prized for its floral, mineral, and delicate power. These old vines had belonged to Samuel’s grandmother, and many are approaching 100 years old. He never wants to put this in oak, he likes to keep the transparency of the fruit at the fore. It is tightly coiled on the nose, a little shy at first, but slowly unfurling into one of the most complex and complete wines in Samuel’s cellar.

Samuel jokes that this is ‘Petit Chablis deluxe’. It comes from a parcel just above Grand Cru Les Clos, and is a rare example of Petit Chablis grown on a high proportion of Kimmeridgian, rather than purely Portlandian, limestone. Although Samuel does not distinguish within his range, all the fruit here comes from his own vines, ie ‘domaine’. Indeed, it’s one of the parcels he was most determined to hang onto after splitting from his family estate in 2009. It was so badly frosted in 2021 that none was produced, so we are thrilled to have it back in 2022. It is focused and precise, with lemon zest and salty minerality running through it, and a peachy, smooth as silk length.

Samuel’s Chablis is an absolute go-to. It’s a blend of three parcels, picked and vinified separately. Together they contribute complexity, richness, and minerality: that’s a pretty good combination for a Chablis, with impressive depth of fruit and a satisfying, fleshy weight,and its persistent length is clean-cut and refreshing. It’s one of our fastest sellers each year, and invariably sells out en primeur, so you need to buy early (well worth having).

Vaudésir sits high up on the grand cru hill, and is an east-facing sunny site whose steep incline catches the sun’s rays. The wine is deceptively full bodied, with power and precision driving through the finish. Oak ageing gives depth, and this wine will benefit from a few years in the cellar before approaching.

This is the most forward and flattering of Samuel’s grands crus in its youth. It has a gourmand volume on the palate, with tangy pineapple fruit on the length. It will happily go on for many years in the cellar, but it’s the easiest of his grands crus to approach in youth.

This is the most prized vineyard in Chablis, and with good reason. The wine has a level of intensity and precision that is only possible with fruit of impeccable quality. It has a whisper of smoke on the nose, and the promise of complex evolution as this ages. It carries its oak with effortless grace.

Samuel’s Montée de Tonnerre is a blend of two parcels, one of which lies alongside that of Raveneau’s. It has a wonderfully spicy scent, reminiscent of ginger. The palate is savoury and taut, with a tingling freshness on the finish. 20% is raised in oak, giving the fruit further breadth.

William Fèvre owns half of the Bougros lieu-dit, so it’s no wonder theirs is the best example you will find. Its clay soils make a flattering, comparatively early-drinking grand cru, which will show well from early on. The nose is brimming with the scent of freshly cut grass and the palate has an open, peachy texture. Every year we remark what good value this is, and 2022 is no different.

Vaulorent is technically part of Fourchaume, the largest premier cru in Chablis, and is the only premier cru to share the same slope as the grand cru. It has very chalky soil and produces a wine of power and silky tension. The 2022 has a delicious nutty reduction, leading to a palate with a powerful drive. It is a highlight in an already stellar line-up.

Beauroy is located within Troesmes, and the Fevre parcel is home to old vines, all around 55 to 60 years old. It shows mineral structure and fruit density, but its overall frame is lighter on its feet than some others in the lineup, and it will be one of the more forward drinking of the premiers crus.

The Fèvre Chablis comes from 40 parcels scattered across four hectares, from vines with an average age of 50 years. Much of these are grown around Chichée, near Vosgros, and give the quality you might expect in a premier cru. The result is a village Chablis of brilliant precision, with a long voluminous finish.

Montmains is a cool site, and often picked later than most premiers crus. It’s a large site with various sub-zones worth of note. The Fevre example is equal parts Montmains, Forets, and Butteaux. In 2022 it is ripe, with a salinity that gives it a beautiful chalky freshness.

This comes from the parcel at the bottom of the slope, by the river. Its soil always lends wines lots of saltiness and minerality, Didier says. Its special character has always stood out, and it’s been bottled separately from Bougros since 1998. The 2022 is tense, energetic and powerful. It has a piercing saline freshness. Outstanding.