Chablis 2024

Didier has been making this single vineyard village Chablis since 2006. It sits near premier cru Vaucopins with a westerly exposition. The cool fruit here gives a flinty, mouthwatering expression. Rounder than the Vauclaire, with tension and intensity all the way to the impressive finish.

Didier Picq’s Chablis holdings are all high in limestone, giving his wines a wonderfully pithy minerality. This village Chablis shows wonderful Chablis typicity - green apple, oyster brine notes and a long, savoury length. As with all his wines, it is aged in stainless steel, so the fruit and tension are pure and precise. Outstanding value.

This village parcel sits on the region’s right bank, near premier cru Vosgros. Didier followed this cuvée carefully for eight years before bottling it separately from 2022. He is pleased with the results so far: a lean, long, structured wine that sits above his village Chablis, offering up oyster shell iodine notes.

Didier Picq has two choice parcels in premier cru Vosgros. The vines range from 40-60 years old. It is raised entirely in stainless steel and produces a wine of intensity and cut-glass freshness.

Didier Picq has two choice parcels in premier cru Vosgros. The vines range from 40-60 years old. It is raised entirely in stainless steel and produces a wine of intensity and cut-glass freshness.

This wine is from one of the region’s cooler terroirs, and in Benoît’s hands, always makes for a characterful and striking wine. It is vinified and raised exclusively in stainless steel: he 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.

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 wine has a salty seaspray edge to it. The scintillating line of acidity running through its length makes it one of the most complex in the line up.

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 just ripe stonefruit. Intense, salty, and voluminous.

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 soils also 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 out there, and has an army 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 2024 is typically floral, as great Vaillons tends to be. It’s an elegant wine with classical balance. Around 30% 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. 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 in1920.

Vaudésir sits at the top of the grand cru hill, and enjoys a steep incline, making it one of the sunnier spots. It is intense and precise, with a fine, elegant length. It’s got a great texture, with stone fruit concentration laced with grilled hazelnuts. This will drink well early, though its drinking window should not be underestimated.

Séchet is a lieu-dit within the Vaillons premier cru, which is prized for its floral, mineral, and delicate power. These old vines 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, i.e. ‘domaine’. Indeed, it’s one of the parcels he was most determined to hang onto after splitting from his family estate in 2009. It is focused and precise, with lemon zest and salty minerality running through it, and a peachy, smooth as silk length.precise, with lemon zest and salty minerality running through it, and a peachy, smooth as silk length.

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.

This comes from a blend of three parcels, which are picked and vinified separately. Samuel says these three parts contribute complexity, richness, and minerality to the blend. That’s a pretty good combination for a Chablis. It has an impressive depth of fruit with 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 if you want any in your cellar (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 a bright and zingy entry to Samuel’s grand cru range. It is raised half in tank, half in barrel, and blended together after one year. Its fruit-forward palate has a nice open weave, with typical Chablis verve driving through on the finish.

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.

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.

Montmains is a cool site, and often picked later than most premiers crus. It’s a large site, with various sub-zones of note. The Fèvre example is equal parts Montmains, Forets, and Butteaux. This combination makes for a tense, ripe wine, with salinity and a beautiful chalky freshness.

This comes from two parcels at the bottom of the slope, by the river. Their soil lends the wine saltiness and minerality. Its special character has always stood out, and it’s been bottled separately from Bougros since 1998. It is tense, energetic and powerful with a piercing saline freshness. Outstanding.

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. It is one of the most backward wines in the cellar, but the density and precision it possesses promise an exciting future. You are in no doubt of the greatness of this wine when tasting.