Winemaker Notes
An incredibly complex and delicious Chardonnay that easily holds its weight against the great masters in Puligny, Meursault and Corton-Charlemagne. Muscular yet refined and finessed, it greets the nose with a hedonistic bouquet of lush citrus, tart green apples, white flowers, fresh herbs and delicate yet pronounced saline minerals, all supported by just the slightest hint of toast. Laser-precise on the palate with zippy acidity and immaculate detail.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
A glowing lemon and lime colour, really delicious. Immaculate precision on the nose, as steely as they come. Excellent tension, the purest of white fruits, just a little cream behind which is a sign of concentration, supported in this case by really well-judged oak. Huge ageing potential. Youthful bitters in the best way.
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Vinous
The 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a surprisingly austere bouquet that demands some coaxing from the glass. At the moment, it is outperformed by the Valmur. The palate is fresh and saline, with wonderful acidity, touches of peach and Clementine towards its graceful finish. Long and tender. I would give this time in bottle for the aromatics to open. Rating: 94+
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Wine Spectator
Rich and verging on creamy, with peach, green plum, lemon, floral and mineral flavors, this white turns leaner and more defined as the bracing acidity emerges, driving the citrus and mineral finish. Drink now through 2032.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The source of the most racy, light and tactile, yet uniquely complex Chardonnay, Chablis, while considered part of Burgundy, actually reaches far past the most northern stretch of the Côte d’Or proper. Its vineyards cover hillsides surrounding the small village of Chablis about 100 miles north of Dijon, making it actually closer to Champagne than to Burgundy. Champagne and Chablis have a unique soil type in common called Kimmeridgian, which isn’t found anywhere else in the world except southern England. A 180 million year-old geologic formation of decomposed clay and limestone, containing tiny fossilized oyster shells, spans from the Dorset village of Kimmeridge in southern England all the way down through Champagne, and to the soils of Chablis. This soil type produces wines full of structure, austerity, minerality, salinity and finesse.
Chablis Grands Crus vineyards are all located at ideal elevations and exposition on the acclaimed Kimmeridgian soil, an ancient clay-limestone soil that lends intensity and finesse to its wines. The vineyards outside of Grands Crus are Premiers Crus, and outlying from those is Petit Chablis. Chablis Grand Cru, as well as most Premier Cru Chablis, can age for many years.