Chablis

This Chablis from Didier represents his largest bottling from various parcels around the domaine. It is quite simply everything you might hope for in a village Chablis. Saline, focused, with fine citrus notes of white grapefruit and hints of stone fruit. It is tightly coiled and classic in style. The finish shows a subtle and enticing delicate bitter lemon note.

The village bottling of Vauclaire is a new wine for Didier, bottled separately for the first time with the 2022 vintage. This is a parcel on the left bank of the Serein River, planted in 1985 and 1986 near Vosgros and Dessus la Carrière. On the nose this is so fresh and vibrant with aromas of chalk dust, white flowers, apricot and almond blossom. A really beautiful Chablis this year.

The estate has a total of 3.5 hectares of Vosgros in two parcels. The larger parcel has vines dating back to the 1960s while the other smaller parcel was planted in the early 1980s. Exposed southwest, its soil is brown marl limestone, giving wines which open with citrus and stone fruit before a wave of salinity floods the palate. In 2023 this is quite brilliant with a mineral-etched focus.

Valmur is pressed up against Les Clos; the contour of its slope, where much faces northwest, makes it slightly cooler than other parts of the grand cru. It’s 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.

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 from the 2023 vintage onwards, Benoît once again has the right to label this Les Clos, although he has continued to use Hommage à Louis as well.

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. The warm, sunny aspect is on full display in this 2023, which is drawn from three parcels spread across the top, middle, and bottom sections of the premier cru. It is as detailed and comlpete a portrait of the cru as you will find. While the fruit on the nose is open and intese, the palate reminds us just how taut and steely Samuel builds his Chablis. It is straight and incisive, with a concentrated, saline flicker on the finish. The balance of minerality, tension, and energy makes this a highly inviting glass.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Montmains is a cool site, and often picked later than most premier crus. It’s a large site with various sub-zones worth of note. The Fevre example is equal parts Montmains, Forêts, and Butteaux. In 2023 it is ripe with delicate grapefruit citrus, and a salinity that gives it a beautiful chalky freshness.

This comes from the parcel at the bottom of the slope, by the river. Its soils always produce wines with lots of saltiness and minerality, Didier says. The special character of this vineyard has always stood out, and it has been bottled separately from Bougros since 1998. The 2023 is tense, energetic and powerful. It has a piercing saline freshness. Outstanding.

Vaillons is a warm, sunny Premier Cru, much admired in the region. Fèvre has a substantial 3.5 hectares right in the middle of the slope. Their 55-year-old vines produce concentration and ripeness in the wine. This 2023 is bursting with floral aromatics: white blossom and jasmine spice with a hint of white pepper. It is delicious already, but will age brilliantly too.

Vaudésir is shaped like an amphitheatre and catches the sun. As a result, the fruit ripens early here, and it needs to be picked at just the right time. This 2023 is a real gear-change in the cellar: it shows the hallmarks of a truly great terroir. Its fine-boned energy is so pretty in youth and will maintain its striking beauty with age. Aromatically complex, fresh, zingy and detailed.

Three parcels are blended here, creating a complex and crystalline wine. It has the honour of hosting the domaine’s oldest vines, which were planted in 1936. These add beautiful freshness along with density of fruit. The 2023 is fresh and pure with an unmistakable power and depth underneath. The concentration and precision it already shows promises a very exciting future. You are in no doubt of the greatness of this wine when tasting it.

Valmur lies just above Les Clos, and the William Fèvre parcel sits right atop the crest of the hill, benefitting from a cool microclimate. This 2023 has a wonderful purity to it: crystalised ginger dances across the palate. It is long, persistent, and very fine indeed. Give it a little time, and see it soar.

Preuses tends to be the most mineral and chalky or the grand cru lieux-dits, and the Fèvre example is quintessential. It is tight and powerful, with wonderful depth on the nose. The palate has pronounced energy and precision, and there is a long, tingling line of mineral freshness that stretches right down the finish. It encapsulates the purity and finesse of the 2023 vintage.

Preuses tends to be the most mineral and chalky or the grand cru lieux-dits, and the Fèvre example is quintessential. It is tight and powerful, with wonderful depth on the nose. The palate has pronounced energy and precision, and there is a long, tingling line of mineral freshness that stretches right down the finish. It encapsulates the purity and finesse of the 2023 vintage.

Beauroy is located within Troesmes, and the Fevre parcel is 1.1 ha and 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 2023 is energetic and full of bright citrus fruit, minerality and pithy lemon on the persistent finish.

This wine is mineral, zingy, citrus-driven, and intense with great drive and depth. Plenty of dry extract gives the palate a serious weight and mineral poise. This may be a wine of humble communal classification, but it has a profound energy, and deserves special attention. Under Diam closure for the first time in 2023.

Fourchaume has a little more flesh on its bones than the chiselled La Forêt. This is no surprise given Fourchaume is one of the warmer sites in Chablis, thanks to its southerly exposure. It is savoury and smooth on the palate, with a great concentration and weighty finish, absolutely delicious.

Bessin’s Valmur is arguably the best value grand cru in Burgundy. And in spite of its great value, the wine’s potential for ageing should not be underestimated. The 2023 is flinty, with a lacy texture. The nose is edgy, slightly reductive, and tells you it will need some time. But the promise on the palate is sure to deliver in the years to come. It’s a reserved grand cru, rather than a flamboyant one, but its still waters run deep.