Chablis Premier Cru

From 60-year-old vines, the nose offers citrus and floral notes. After the initial zesty kick, this becomes more expansive on the mid-palate, tightening up again with an unerring finish of chalk, lemon and salinity. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The legendary Louis Pinson himself retired in 1983, having made some fabulous oldstyle Chablis. His great-grand-daughter, Charlène, along with her father Laurent and her uncle Christophe are now in charge. There is a Rue Pinson in Chablis, dating back to an earlier generation when three Pinson brothers lived in identical houses on the street. Everything is hand-harvested, with sorting of the grapes both in the vineyard and at the winery. The wines are wild-fermented, mostly in stainless steel tanks, before barrel ageing, with the proportion of oak depending on the cuvée. Despite describing 2016 as a testing year, Laurent Pinson and his daughter Charlène are upbeat, declaring themselves very happy with the quality of the grapes and resultant wines. Volumes are down in many cases, and the limited-production Cuvée Mademoiselle has not been made this year.

The frost meant that there are only three barrels of this in 2016, as opposed to the usual five. As ever with Vaillons, there is a good level of richness – Laurent describes it as “gourmand” – but underpinned by tension and nervosity. A chalky texture provides a cleansing freshness to the finish, along with a touch of spicy oak which will integrate further with time in bottle.

Mont-de-Milieu is the Pinson family’s largest holding of the Premiers Crus and consequently something of a flagship wine. The nose shows a little of its oak élevage at present, along with subtle wafts of noble reduction. There is a wonderful concentration of fruit, beautifully intertwined with cool, marine notes. A harmonious wine with great finesse and elegance. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The legendary Louis Pinson himself retired in 1983, having made some fabulous oldstyle Chablis. His great-grand-daughter, Charlène, along with her father Laurent and her uncle Christophe are now in charge. There is a Rue Pinson in Chablis, dating back to an earlier generation when three Pinson brothers lived in identical houses on the street. Everything is hand-harvested, with sorting of the grapes both in the vineyard and at the winery. The wines are wild-fermented, mostly in stainless steel tanks, before barrel ageing, with the proportion of oak depending on the cuvée. Despite describing 2016 as a testing year, Laurent Pinson and his daughter Charlène are upbeat, declaring themselves very happy with the quality of the grapes and resultant wines. Volumes are down in many cases, and the limited-production Cuvée Mademoiselle has not been made this year.

With a fine, pale colour, the nose is restrained in youth, but there is a delicious wealth of fruit on the palate, folded into a rich background and finishing in fresh style. This is a very stylish bottling of Fourchaume. Drink 2019-2023.
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.

Romain uses a touch more oak than his father, but there’s a clear parallel in styles between this and the domaine wines: Romain’s Vaillons is creamy and rounded, yet mineral, with a late wave of citrus and iodine following the initial hit of stone-fruit and spice. It’s made from the fruit of 50-year-old vines, to which Romain attributes its impressive concentration. Drink now to 2027.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (winter 2019)

This blends the 1937-planted Ardillier fruit, along with L’Homme Mort and Fourchaume, with around a quarter raised in oak. The concentration of the reduced yield shines through, yet does not make the wine unbalanced. It is powerful, with a creamy, supple texture, and a simmering undercurrent of energetic minerals. Incredible persistence. Drink 2021-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Having stepped down from the company which bears his name, Michel Laroche has, along with his daughters, launched a small domaine based on their family vineyards, named after Michel’s father Henri. Their principal holdings are in Premier Cru Fourchaume, especially a Vieilles Vignes cuvée from 47-year-old vines in L’Homme Mort and an Héritage cuvée, which comes from the oldest parcel (planted in 1937) in the lieu-dit of l’Ardillier. At an average of just 13hl/ha, Michel Laroche described this as the worst vintage – in volume terms – that he has seen in 50 years. Fourchaume, where the family has the vast majority of its Premier Cru holdings, was particularly badly hit by both frost and hail. As a result, they have made a single “super-cuvée” of Fourchaume, including the estate’s oldest vines.

From vines approaching 50 years of age, 25 percent of the wine is fermented and raised in older oak barrels. Extraordinarily fine and restrained for arguably Chablis’s most exuberant Premier Cru, this is an intense, precise wine with real focus. Lots of fine mineral notes wrapped up in viscous citrus fruit give a wonderful, textured finish. Drink 2022-2028.

Michel’s daughter Margaux is taking a more active role in both the cellar and vineyard. She explained that they have been reducing sulphur levels during the winemaking process, believing that this allows the terroir to express itself better. They also no longer fine or filter the wines, the goal being to preserve as much flavour as possible in the final bottle. Yields are down by 50 percent overall, their aspersion system in Fourchaume rescuing them from the worst of the frost. Margaux feels 2017 is a classic Chablis vintage, with freshness and minerality.

This cuvée comes from a 1.6-hectare plot of vines which suffer from Cournouaille virus and consequently always produce very small yields. The aromatic palette here is built upon citrus fruit, with invigorating notes of zesty lemon and lime. In the mouth the character is one of sizzling freshness, but remarkably open and without austerity – restrained rather than powerful, but with incredible length. The subsoil here is Kimmeridgian with very shallow topsoil, and the mineral thread which runs through the wine speaks clearly of this.

A wine which draws you in from the first whiff of oyster shell, there is a wonderful concentration of yellow fruit here, with plenty of power and energy. It is dense and weighty but not remotely heavy, thanks to the fine core of acidity. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

This domaine, based in the heart of Chablis, dates back to 1850. Prior to 1970 all the wines were fermented and matured in old oak barrels; by 1980 the old oak had been thrown out and the domaine had switched entirely to stainless steel. Today, it is run by Guillaume Gicqueteau-Michel and comprises 25 hectares of vineyards, mainly Premier and Grand Cru. It remains the byword for unoaked Chablis. Once again quantities are very small this year; in fact, 2016 is the smallest vintage Guillaume has ever made. As a longstanding customer, we have been looked after, however, with only the Clos and Grenouilles significantly down on 2015 volumes. Guillaume feels that this is a classic vintage for Chablis, and one which allows each individual terroir to shine through clearly. Despite the challenges of the vintage, this is an excellent range of wines which display great typicity.

This comes from two plots – Chapelot and the 90-yearold Cartes – this year, rather than the usual three, as the Pargues was hailed completely. This is very classic Chablis on the nose, while the palate has gorgeous concentration and purity, with a saline, marine finish. Punches above the weight of a normal village wine. Drink 2020-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

The brilliantly talented Samuel Billaud was finding family politics hard going, so he founded his own wine label in Chablis separate from Domaine Billaud-Simon. However with the sale of Domaine BillaudSimon to Faiveley in 2014, Samuel has got back a proportion of the vineyards for himself. Whether from domaine sources or purchased grapes, Samuel Billaud’s wines demonstrate his exceptional talent. Samuel feels that 2016 is very close in style to the outstanding 2014 vintage, and says that the concentrating effect of hail and frost early in the season, along with the cool ripening period has given a good balance of matière and acidity. This is a very promising set of wines which will gain in weight and complexity with élevage. Samuel is undoubtedly making some of the finest wines in Chablis.

Jean-Claude was thrilled with the quality of fruit harvested in Fourchaume in 2016 – and there’s tremendous energy and purity to this cuvée. He describes it as “supple, without being fat”, which is to say it’s medium- to full-bodied, and less mineral than, say, his Valmur. The nose is open and expressive, with aromas including tropical fruit and orange blossom, but there’s ample acidity to keep the whole thing fresh and focused. Drink now to 2028.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (winter 2019)

This is the classic Héritage plot of now 80-year-old vines in L’Ardillier, around a third of the wine seeing oak (all old). It is more densely packed and tightly wound than L’Homme Mort, showing a viscous power and plenty of glycerol laid over a rigid skeletal structure. The chewy finish is incredibly lengthy and promises a long future. Drink 2022-2030.

Michel’s daughter Margaux is taking a more active role in both the cellar and vineyard. She explained that they have been reducing sulphur levels during the winemaking process, believing that this allows the terroir to express itself better. They also no longer fine or filter the wines, the goal being to preserve as much flavour as possible in the final bottle. Yields are down by 50 percent overall, their aspersion system in Fourchaume rescuing them from the worst of the frost. Margaux feels 2017 is a classic Chablis vintage, with freshness and minerality.

This comes from vines that run from top to bottom of Chapelots. Palish in colour with broad shoulders, this is not too rich and sunny but is magnificently complete, with excellent balancing acidity. It’s a marvel in the mouth with waves of different fruits, especially plums. Exceptional quality.

This is an outstanding range of wines from Guillaume, the best we have seen here. The season got off to a difficult start with a touch of frost followed by a Whitsun heatwave, which restricted the flowering. After a normal June, a very wet July encumbered work in the vineyards, then the weather cheered up at the end of the season. The Michels harvested from 17th September through to 1st October because of different ripeness levels, stopping in the middle. Clearly this attention to detail paid off in the end. The wines are hand-picked and fermented in stainless steel using natural yeasts.

For his second vintage of this wine, Benoît has cut back on the oak. This is pale in colour, and clearly shows ripe fruit, weight and spice. It’s not just the weight that impresses, but the sense of precision and depth of fruit. It is a really classy wine, with abundant minerals and a touch of spice.

The vineyards near to Chablis itself were affected by the heat at Whitsun, which damaged the flowering, so the quantity of wine is no better than last year. Outlying communes, however, were less impacted. Benoît began the harvest early, on 11th September. He compares 2014 to 1996, 2007 (only richer) and 2010 (only more mineral). A recent development here is for the wines to be fermented using their own indigenous yeasts.

A glorious, pale, bright appearance, with dense white fruit – not overtly juicy but with a great deal in reserve. There’s enormous weight behind this, with some fresh pear notes, and cashmere-like texture alongside the austerity of youth.

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.

From seven plots across all parts of Fourchaume, totalling two hectares of vines in all, planted in 1970. One fifth of the wine is barrel fermented. Fine pale colour with a very charming nose, with steel behind. Very racy, white fruit, extremely impressive. superb length. Already delicious but great potential to go further. Drink 2014-2018
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.

Delightful lemon scent. Rounded on the palate yet replete with saline minerality. The exceptional 2014 vintage in a nutshell – or should that be oyster shell? 
Will Heslop - Buyer

From a single block planted in 1943 and untouched since, this has a fine, clear colour. There is a delicious purity to the wine; correctly austere, a little white fruit and a fine sense of concentration. With proper Chablisien minerals, it is quite firm – a wine of class and potential longevity rather than immediate sex appeal. Very marine finish, you can almost taste the fish themselves! Drink 2018-2024.
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.

A pure, clear colour, this wine has an intense nose with notes of white fruit and wet wool. Initially it’s very juicy, but with balancing acidity and medium weight on the palate. The most remarkable feature is the finish, which goes on and on and leaves a salty tang which calls for shellfish.

This is much more exotic, but in a very good way. The wine has real nervous tension along with Montée de Tonnerre’s natural opulence. There’s a touch of spice here, excellent acidity, a fine thread of concentrated yellow plum fruit and a little bit of orange blossom. Complex and interesting. Drink 2018-2024.
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.