2021 Chablis, Hommage à Louis, Grand Cru, Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, Burgundy
Critics reviews
This should be Les Clos but there is still a dispute in place with officialdom as to whether or not one of the plots counts as Les Clos or Valmur. I would side with Benoît and Les Clos. Incidentally, he has found out more about the soil through the laying of electric cables to warm the wines when it freezes. There is an unexpected amount of blue clay along with the classic slabs of limestone. The 2021 Hommage a Louis has a very classy nose, a really beautiful expression of Clos. There is a magical, lean intensity on the palate. Perhaps it is not as immediately stunning as the 2021 Grenouilles, but this will live to make old bones.
Drink 2027 - 2036
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (January 2023)
From a 1.4 ha holding in Les Clos.
Like the Grenouilles, there is enough wood to merit mentioning but not enough to overshadow the cool, airy and very fresh aromas of oyster shell, white flower and ocean breeze. The succulent yet powerful and delineated flavours brim with both minerality and dry extract, all wrapped in a driving bitter lemon-inflected and youthfully austere finale.
This gorgeously textured effort is a lovely combination of power and refinement that should amply repay a decade-plus of cellaring. I would add that Les Clos is known among the vignerons of Chablis as La Force Tranquille (the tranquil force), and in 2021, it carries its nickname well!
Drink from 2033 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (August 2023)
Named after the ancestor that originally bought the parcel, the 2021 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru Hommage à Louis has an intense bouquet with praline and white chocolate touches infusing the vibrant citrus fruit. The palate is very well-balanced, with a powerful opening. It's spicy like the Les Preuses, though many without quite the same ambition on the finish. But this is still very impressive.
Drink 2024 - 2046
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (September 2023)
As readers will remember, the 2021 Chablis Grand Cru Hommage à Louis is a result of a dispute with the INAO—who contended that part of the Droin family's historic parcel of Les Clos, named as such on the cadastre and always labelled accordingly, is in fact Valmur—and while that dispute is close to resolution, the "Hommage" label will endure, at least through the 2021 vintage. Revealing aromas of Myer lemon, pear, white flowers and almond paste, it's full-bodied, satiny and layered, with a concentrated core of sweet fruit, lively acids and a long, chalky finish. It's a terrific effort in a challenging vintage.
Drink 2025 - 2045
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (September 2023)
Cask sample
Sleek and refreshing with a strong mineral element. Impressive and tightly wound for a successful future.
Drink 2025 - 2040
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (January 2023)
Top quality producer.
Weighty, profound, and rich, this is a stunning Les Clos with an extra depth and richness that would please many Côte-d'Or fans. White flowers are on the nose, and spice and stone fruit are on the palate, with 40% oak and a lingering, freshening mineral undertow. A Grand Cru with gravitas that will drink for 15-20 years. Droin has 1.4ha, with vine age averaging 40 years. Its plots are located in various sectors of the cru, with some lower down in the western sector and part on the blue clay soils on the mid-slope.
Drink 2026 - 2038
Andy Howard MW, Decanter.com (October 2022)
About this WINE
Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin
The Droins have been producing wines in Chablis for nearly 400 years (their history as vignerons goes back at least to 1620). Benoît represents the14th generation of Droins and is one of the most dynamic winemakers in the region. His father Jean-Paul put the domaine on the map but perhaps went too far down the road of new oak barrels.
The domaine owns 13 hectares of vineyards and produces 14 different wines, including Petit Chablis, Chablis, 7 Premiers Crus and 5 Grands Crus.
Benoît runs a more sophisticated operation from a large modern winery almost in the shadow of the grands crus. He has revised his pruning system and significantly reduced yields. In the cellar the principal change has been away from new oak.
Each wine now gets the treatment which Benoît thinks is suited to its terroir. Thus Petit Chablis, Chablis, premiers crus Vaucoupin and Côte de Lechet, and grand cru Blanchots are all fermented and matured in tank. Vaillons, Mont de Milieu and Montée de Tonnerre receive 25 per cent of barrel fermentation and maturation, 35 per cent for Vosgros and Vaudésir, 40 per cent for Montmains and Valmur, peaking at 50 per cent for Fourchaume, Grenouilles and Les Clos. However the age of the oak and the choice of tonnelier may vary according to the cuvée. The maximum new oak is ten per cent in the grands crus.
Droin says "I use less new oak now than I did 10 years ago; my feeling is that you don`t make your best wines in new oak barrels." Although these are rich, full-bodied, buttery wines, they still manage to retain a steeliness, raciness and purity of fruit which are the hallmarks of classic Chablis.
Jasper Morris MW
Chablis Grand Cru
These are the biggest, richest and most complex Chablis, which cover a total of 100 hectares – just two percent of the appellation. At their best, they can match the quality of a Grand Cru Chardonnay from the Côte d’Or, yet often at half the price.
They may lack their southern neighbour’s opulence, but they share the latter’s intensity and have a nervy minerality that set them apart. Inexpressive in youth, they should ideally be aged for 10 years, and can mature for up to 30 years. Styles vary according to producer, with some maturing and fermenting in stainless steel while others use barrels, sometimes even new oak.
All seven Grands Crus are grouped together on a single south-west-facing hill just north of the town. La Moutonne is an unofficial eighth Grand Cru straddling Les Preuses and Vaudésir, and is allowed to use the name on its label. The rich, fine Les Clos and the intense, spicy Vaudésir are generally considered to be the best, and are certainly the most full-bodied.
The delicate Blanchots and the racy Grenouilles are the most aromatic, while Les Preuses is full, complex and the least minerally. Valmur is fragrant, rich and smooth while La Moutonne is elegant and incredibly expressive. The vibrant Bougros tends to be the junior member of the group, but in the right hands can also be very good.
Recommended producers: Billaud-Simon, Duplessis, J.-P. & Benoit Droin.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
From a 1.4 ha holding in Les Clos.
Like the Grenouilles, there is enough wood to merit mentioning but not enough to overshadow the cool, airy and very fresh aromas of oyster shell, white flower and ocean breeze. The succulent yet powerful and delineated flavours brim with both minerality and dry extract, all wrapped in a driving bitter lemon-inflected and youthfully austere finale.
This gorgeously textured effort is a lovely combination of power and refinement that should amply repay a decade-plus of cellaring. I would add that Les Clos is known among the vignerons of Chablis as La Force Tranquille (the tranquil force), and in 2021, it carries its nickname well!
Drink from 2033 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (August 2023)
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