Chablis Premier Cru
Chablis Premiers Crus are stylish, minerally wines that are highly underrated, with the better examples outclassing many a good village white Burgundy. The vineyards cover 750 hectares, scattered across 15 communes on isolated slopes with good exposure. There are 17 principal Premiers Crus but in total 79 vineyards are eligible. The finest bottles typically reach their apogee at eight to 10 years.
Learn more about Chablis Premier Cru
Chablis Premiers Crus are stylish, minerally wines which, typically, are less intense than the Grand Crus but finer and longer-lasting than basic Chablis. They are highly underrated with the better examples outclassing many a good village white Burgundy.
The vineyards cover 750 hectares, scattered across 15 communes on isolated slopes with good exposure. There are 17 principal Premiers Crus but in total 79 vineyards are eligible, with most of the lesser-known ones using a more familiar umbrella name on their label. The best flank the Grands Crus on the north bank of the River Serein, like Montée de Tonnerre (probably the best of all), Fourchaume and Mont de Milieu.
Those just south of Chablis, like Vaillons, Montmains (especially Les Forêts) and Côte de Léchet are also good. With the vineyard area having doubled since the 1970s, quality varies enormously so, as ever, the producer is key.
Styles also vary, with some maturing and fermenting in stainless steel for a purer, more minerally style, while others age and sometimes even ferment their wines in oak for extra complexity. The best examples reach their apogee at eight to 10 years, but are normally enjoyed long before then.
Recommended producers: Jean-Claude Bessin, Billaud-Simon, Séguinot-Bordet, J.-P. & Benoit Droin, Duplessis, Defaix
Prices:
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 157cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Volumes for 2015 are down after the pre-harvest hail but the quality here is exemplary. The father and daughter team of Laurent and Charlène Pinson, aided by other members of the family, continue to make excellent and very fairly priced wines from a range of vineyards. Part of our selection is shown below. The wines are mostly vinified in stainless steel then given a proportion of barrel ageing.
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 60cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 16cs
Bottle
£27.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 19cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate. 28th August 2015.
Bottle
£29.90
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Samuel has not only been able to take back his share of the family vineyards but he has also moved into some excellent premises which he has been refurbishing, in the heart of Chablis. It was good to find him in such a cheerful frame of mind. The long, slow vinification of his 2015s has done the wines a lot of good. We found a concentration of minerality and characteristic saline finishes.
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Visiting the domaine during the 2015 harvest, we found Margaux Laroche beaming like a cat with two tails. The storm which had dropped hail over other vineyards had merely provided much needed water for their Fourchaume vines. The grapes badly needed the extra juice which the rains provided, and the extra hang time allowed for them to assimilate the water usefully and then regain their equilibrium behind. The resulting wines are terrific.
Bottle
£32.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 169cs
Magnum
£81.95
Magnum 3 x 150cl 5cs
Jeroboam
£215.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 4cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Domaine d’Henri is a new producer to Berry Bros. & Rudd since 2015, but one which has impressed us all with their considered and thoughtful winemaking and the use of old vines is the key here.
Vieilles Vignes is produced from vineyards planted in 1970, from one of the finest 1er Cru sites. Vinified predominately in stainless steel tanks (79%) to preserve the minerality and freshness, and in oak barrels (21%) of 228-litres so as to add more complex notes, weight and texture (you cannot taste wood). No hurry here as it will age very well until 2020 or beyond, but very lovely now.
Bottle
£33.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£33.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 34cs
Bottle
£33.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Quantity is a bit of a problem this year as the Michels suffered hail in 22 of their 25 hectares. Fortunately most of the Grands Crus were spared, but they have very little Chablis or Premier Cru. Guillaume Michel brought in most of the crop in three and a half days, so there was no deterioration of the grapes from the areas which suffered. The grapes were in fact ripe to perfection and, as with last year, this is an impressive range of wines.
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 12cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
In common with most of his colleagues, Didier Séguier was ready to harvest in early September; starting on Thursday 3rd with the vineyards which had been hit by the hail storm earlier in the week. The damage was to volume rather than quality and certainly just from tasting it was not possible to see where the hail had fallen. These are powerful wines which have nonetheless retained the qualities of classic Chablis.
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 65cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£36.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 9cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
We visited Benoît Droin towards the end of the 2015 harvest. “If you had seen me a week ago, straight after the hail, I was on the point of committing suicide, but actually things have turned out much better than we feared,” he told us. Yields were of course affected in several vineyards but the wines across the board are extremely fine. The proportion of wood used reflects the style rather than the seniority of each cuvée.
Bottle
£37.50
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Visiting the domaine during the 2015 harvest, we found Margaux Laroche beaming like a cat with two tails. The storm which had dropped hail over other vineyards had merely provided much needed water for their Fourchaume vines. The grapes badly needed the extra juice which the rains provided, and the extra hang time allowed for them to assimilate the water usefully and then regain their equilibrium behind. The resulting wines are terrific.
Bottle
£39.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 59cs
Magnum
£98.95
Magnum 3 x 150cl 4cs
Jeroboam
£250.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 4cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director From a small parcel within Fourchaume, 75 Y.O vines. Breed, detail, structure and a pure, saline minerality. Chablis at its best!
Francis Huicq, London Shop Manager
Bottle
£43.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Jeroboam
£250.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 2cs
Magnum
£67.95
Magnum 3 x 150cl 9cs
Jeroboam
£215.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 6cs
The third vintage at Domaine d’Henri is the best to date, and so they make their debut in our en primeur brochure. The grapes were hand picked between the 17th and 25th September, a long enough window to allow each plot to reach the desired degree of ripeness, and the wines have seen about 25 percent barrel-ageing. They will not be bottled until the spring.
Magnum
£81.95
Magnum 3 x 150cl 2cs
The third vintage at Domaine d’Henri is the best to date, and so they make their debut in our en primeur brochure. The grapes were hand picked between the 17th and 25th September, a long enough window to allow each plot to reach the desired degree of ripeness, and the wines have seen about 25 percent barrel-ageing. They will not be bottled until the spring.
Magnum
£98.95
Magnum 3 x 150cl 2cs
Jeroboam
£250.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 2cs
Laurent Pinson is happy to report better volumes than in recent vintages, and more typical Chablis in style. The grapes ripened nicely yet retained very good acidity. The crop was picked by hand in good weather, and fermented with natural yeasts. The crus are all barrel-aged, with a small proportion being barrel fermented. As usual, we see not just great quality but also excellent value for money at this estate.
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Wine Director
This long-established family domaine impresses us more and more with every vintage. The Pinsons have always picked by hand and they are now using natural yeasts for the vinification process. Most wines are vinified in stainless steel, with a small percentage in barrel for the top wines, then matured in barrel for up to a year. The only bad news in 2012 is the quantity: 20% down for straight Chablis, 25-30% less across the Premier Cru vineyards and minus 50% on the Grand Cru which was affected by frost.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Picking began on Wednesday 2nd October for Les Butteaux and finished on the 8th. The crop was down overall by 35%, especially in village and Grand Cru. The wines underwent a long, slow fermentation without any lees stirring. Though we have long been admirers of this domaine, this is the first appearance for Louis Michel in our Grand Burgundy Offer.off without problem during vinification and in the cellar.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Volumes for 2015 are down after the pre-harvest hail but the quality here is exemplary. The father and daughter team of Laurent and Charlène Pinson, aided by other members of the family, continue to make excellent and very fairly priced wines from a range of vineyards. Part of our selection is shown below. The wines are mostly vinified in stainless steel then given a proportion of barrel ageing.