Sarah Marsh MW
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons
Largely from the actual Vaillons lieu-dit, at the heart of this large premier cru with several subdivisions. Apricot aroma. This is somewhat exotic on both nose and palate. A more flamboyant, spicy Vaillons in ’21. Maybe I’d like to see more finesse, but the super-salty finish is good. 2025–30. | 87
Chablis Premier Cru Vaulorent
Lightly glowing, refined aroma, then an equally elegant palate. Pure and shimmering. Poised and intense. Precise and silky, with an ozone, crushed oyster-shell finish. 2027–35. | 91
Chablis Grand Cru Preuses
A warm, creamy aroma, with succulence on the front palate and a sumptuous mid-palate. It’s so alluring, but finesse is apparent on the refined, pure, delicate, salty, ozone finish. Shows only too well in youth but should ideally be kept. 2028–40. | 93
Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir
Due to Vaudésir’s southerly exposure and early maturity, Fèvre normally begins the harvest here, an amphitheater on a 40º slope. Perfumed. Elegance and purity on the front palate, with no lack of intensity of fruit in the middle, but quite austere, strict, and taut under the polished veneer, before a whip lash of minerality carries the finish. Wait for it to show its true potential. 2028–35+. | 94
DOMAINE LAROCHE At Laroche they tend to pick on the earlier side, to focus on freshness, so the style can have a slightly more phenolic profile, giving it texture. Stéphane Barras, the cellar manager, remarked that it would have made no sense to chaptalize, as they deliberately harvest for freshness. Alcohol levels are 11.8–12% for Chablis village, 12.3–12.4% for the premiers crus. It is all hand-harvested at premier or grand-cru level. Barras likes to play with the oxidation/reduction potential in barrels of four different sizes, from 228 liters, to 600 liters, none new. The Premier Cru Côte de Léchet (just 1,000 liters) is being aged in one 600-liter oak barrel and one 400-liter acacia barrel. “Acacia brings a floral character and subtlety,” Barras says.
Chablis Premier Cru Les Butteaux
Pure, floral aroma. Delicate and precise. Quite light, but very stylish, with a sappy finish, maybe from the oak. Not quite as long as the Vaillons. 2025–32. | 87
Chablis Premier Cru Côte de Léchet
White flowers and dill. Delicate, airy, precise, and pure. Light and pretty. 2023–28. | 86–87
Chablis Premier Cru Les Fourchaumes Most of the Laroche holding is in the L’Homme Mort subdivision, but the domaine also has smaller plot in Côte de Fontenay. A peppery aroma with a touch of pimenton. Quite rich, dense, and muscular; full-bodied, with plenty of tension and an earthy, quartz grip, with good freshness to the finish. A robust feel. 2027–35. | 89
Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
A sappy, phenolic character, with bite. Plenty of matter, with a firm texture, this wine pushes into a vigorous finish. 2027–33. | 90
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons Vieilles Vignes
Dill-fond aroma. Attacks the palate. Sharp and quite biting acidity, with a pithy, almond-kernel, savory, salty freshness. A keen and lean style of Vaillons. 2025–32+. | 87–88
Chablis Premier Cru Vaudevey
A North wind blows down this east-facing valley. A leafy, dill aroma. Straight, crisp, and energtic, with a fresh, star-anise character, finishing with a shiver of salt. 2024–28. | 86–87
Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots
Volume, with airiness and purity. Precise and elegant, with excellent tension and a delightfully persistent, soft-salt finish. Spot-on. 2027–35+. | 93
Chablis Grand Cru La Réserve de L’Obédience
This 3,000-bottle cuvée comes from Blanchots, where Laroche has 10 acres (4ha). There are ten parcels, which are all vinified separately. From 30 barrels, Barras blends for the perfect triangle of aroma, acidity, and structure. It is very focused and intense, with an extra level of salinity, vibration, and persistence on the finish. 2028–35+. | 94
DOMAINE LONG-DEPAQUIT Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaucoupins
Light elderflower aroma, with a hint of dill on the palate. Light, steely, crisp, and straight, with a salty finish. Nervy wine. Good typicité. 2023–26. | 86
Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Succulent and energetic. A rounded palate, with crystalized citrus intensity and notes of fennel. Rather compact. Silex to finish. 2026–30. | 91
DOMAINE LOUIS MICHEL Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel was able to protect just two of the domaine’s 62 acres (25ha) against frost and lost 65% of its production. They hand- harvest the grand cru and old vines, but never the Chablis or Petit Chablis. For "those in the middle," the premiers crus, “it depends,” Guillaume explained. “I like to harvest quite late, so I have to do it in five days and use both machine- and hand- harvesters.” The domaine will be certified organic in 2023. Guillaume used a stricter débourbage in 2021 because of the botrytis. He has not inoculated for fermentation since 2008, which is quite unusual, as most in Chablis do. All his 2021s will be bottled under Diam closures. “It’s an old-school vintage, like back in the ‘80s,” he said, while admitting, “It’s difficult to compare.” All of the wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel. It is interesting to compare the three Montmains lieux-dits aged in stainless steel.
This comes from 10 acres (4ha) in Chapelots, from the bottom to the top of the gentle incline. Lithe muscle, direct, smooth, and it pushes into a persistent finish, with crushed oyster and smoky graphite at the end. It is quite a restrained Montée de Tonnerre. Maybe the aging in stainless steel brings out this less punchy and better-mannered profile. 2026–32+. | 91
Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir
From the north-facing part, which helps in hot vintages. They wait to harvest here until the end. Elegant and pure, with a floral, silky charm, underscored with a light ozone sea-spray of minerals. It is light, airy, and vivid. Focuses on the fine, gossamer profile of Vaudésir. 2028–35. | 93
J MOREAU & FILS Winemaker Lucie Depuydt starts the fermentation in tank. At a density around 1060/105 mg/cc she moves between 30% and 40% of the juice into barrels, but none are new. After this, she explained, “We don't move the wine from their original tank or barrel, to avoid oxidation and to keep a maximum of lees. We did some bâtonnage in tank and in barrel to help the aging potential and to decrease the level of added sulfur.” She adds, “I find a lot of flavors, mango and lime flower, close to the 2016 vintage.” I also found some tropical fruit and orange aromas.
Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Savory, mineral aroma. Citrus and dill on the attack. Channeled, quite lean and edgy. Good energy. Pithy and sapid. with graphite. 2025–28. | 88–89
Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
A rich but savory aroma. The warmth of ripe fruit on the attack, yet grippy and cold. There is breadth and muscle. Hones into an austere, punchy, and oyster-shell finish. 2025–30. | 92
Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
Clementine, spice, and rich floral scents. Supple, intense, and flowing. A step up in complexity, with a more expansive, layered palate, smoothly mineral, into a long, graphite finish. 2025–30. | 91–92
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 179
Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux Vieilles Vignes
This cuvée is due more to the soil than to the age of the vines per se, those for this cuvée being 65 years old, while the rest are 50. This parcel is slightly lower down, where there is more white clay. Deeper and stronger than the other Butteaux cuvée, with smooth, wet-stone minerals, citrus pithiness, and good tension to finish. 2026–30+. | 88
Chablis Premier Cru Forets
The parcel has 32 inches (80cm) of topsoil over limestone and it is much rockier than Montmains. Upright aroma. Fresh and energetic jump onto the palate. Grassy, piquant, with fine powdery minerality. Just lightly rounded. Silky texture and, on the finish, softly saline. 2025–30. | 88
Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre
2021 BURGUNDY: CHABLIS
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