Chablis tasting

[AlexR]

I don’t often drink Chablis and this is only the second time in my life that I have participated in anything approaching a comprehensive tasting of the stuff.
My personal image of Chablis was heretofore not necessarily flattering. I went on the assumption that Côte de Beaune whites were much better, and so my cellar has never contained much Chablis.
In the wine books available when I was young (mostly by British authors), ageing Chablis was often recommended. However, my tasting tended to contradict that advice. I prefer them on the young side, crisp and vital.

Here are the wines we tasted:

2019 Chablis 1er cru Montée de Tonnerre, Sélection Pascal Moreau (négociant)
2019 Chablis 1er cru Fourchaume Domaine de Perdrycourt  
2018 Chablis 1er cru Mont de Milieu, Laroche (négociant)
2018 Chablis 1er cru Montmains, Domaine Christophe Camu
2018 Chablis 1er cru Vaillons, Domaine Moreau-Daudet
2017 Chablis 1er cru Montée de Tonnerre, Domaine Gérard Duplessis
2016 Chablis 1er cru Monmains, Domaine Jean-Paul et Beroît Droin
2016 Chablis grand cru Les Clos, Domaine Gérard Duplessis
2016 Chablis, grand cru Les Grenouilles, La Chablisienne

The overall quality was good to excellent, and so I have happily revised my opinion of Chablis, especially when you consider the price of Meursault, Puligny Montrachet, etc. these days…
Premier cru Chablis is generally available here at 25 to 30 euros a bottle.

The tasting showed that terroir does not lie. The two grand cru wines were a step up from the premiers crus. In fact, these were my favorite wines, along with the Vaillons from Moreau-Daudet.

The use of oak seemed discreet with almost all the wines – a big advantage from my point of view.

There were 8 of us at the dinner that followed, which included platesfull of Marennes-Oléron oysters – a traditional and perfect fit with the wines.

I think I will be buying some more Chablis in the near future.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Comte Flaneur]

Duplessis is one of my go to producers Alex. In fact I have more from this producer than any other and do own and drink quite a lot of Chablis.

[jckba]

Unfamiliar with Duplessis but you really can’t go wrong with a Chablis tasting and oysters; nicely done.

[JCNorthway]

Thanks for the notes, Alex, and glad you enjoyed the wines. Due to pricing in , most of my white Burgundy purchases the last several years have been either Chablis or Macon wines. Though I'm only familiar with a few of the names you tasted, I've been consistently satisfied with Chablis I've had from 2018, 2019 and 2020. And the majority of them have not been premier or grand crus.

[stefan]

Once you exit Puligny, Chassagne, and Meursault, there is good QPR in Burgundy whites.

[jckba]

Once you exit Puligny, Chassagne, and Meursault, there is good QPR in Burgundy whites.

While I can agree with you I can also disagree at the same time as have you seen the pricing of the Hubert Lamy, PYCM or Ramonet Saint-Aubins?

[Nicklasss]

I like Chablis a lot, but it must be really Chablis with shell minerals and good freshness.

In warm vintages, or some producers, are trying to transform their "Chablis" in other type of wines like white wines from Côte de Beaune. These are really not for me.

Yesterday i drank a 2019 Chablis from Garnier et Fils that was quite good, and genuine to Chablis terroir. Bingo!

[jal]

Nice tasting paring, past the heavyweights Dauvissat and Ravenneau, chablis pricing is quite decent. We drink Billaud Simon, Louis Michel, and William Fevre a lot as they are widely available in the US and Israel. I love Roland Lavantureux also.

[jckba]

Jacques, next time you see a bottle of Laurent Tribut Chablis which is brought in by Vineyard Brands, give it a go as I think you will take to it and there is a Dauvissat connection.

[jal]

Jacques, next time you see a bottle of Laurent Tribut Chablis which is brought in by Vineyard Brands, give it a go as I think you will take to it and there is a Dauvissat connection.

Will do, JC. Thanks