Preuses

The hallmark of this wine is a gracious elegance, a seamless texture and a feeling of serenity. White fruit and minerality combine effortlessly on a scale which is clearly Grand Cru. It offers more harmony but less electricity than Côte Bouguerots for example.

The grapes were picked by hand between 15th and 22nd September in good weather conditions. The Premiers Crus will be bottled in December or January, the Grands Crus a little later. The fresh style of the wines is dictated by the summer temperatures, both July and August being cooler than average. The different terroirs are beautifully delineated this year and the range offers some fascinating contrasting pairings: Vaillons/Mont de Milieu; Montée de Tonnerre/Vauloren and Les Preuses/ Côte Bouguerots for example.

A brilliant, clear colour, this has a very sensual nose of white flowers and fruit. There is a really gracious texture here with the usual Preuses cashmere coating. It’s fully ripe but not heavy, a beauty. There is great energy behind, but with distinction rather than brute force. Drink 2022-2028.
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.

Picking started as early as 31st August at Domaine William Fèvre, which is extraordinarily early for Chablis, but a good decision seeing as it preserved the essential acidity in grapes which were ripe in their low-yielding vineyards. The crop was reduced on the right bank after a touch of frost slightly disturbed flowering and hail which arrived on 28th June. Didier Séguier, the talented winemaker, draws some parallels with 2000 and, in terms of the moderate but balanced acidity, 2002 – both of which are fine vintages indeed for Chablis. All of the wines listed below were farmed organically in 2011.

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This bright and light wine is dominated by white fruits and displays a silky texture rather than the usual opulent wool. Rounded, juicy and very lovely, it is extremely drinkable.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director