Things move quickly at Domaine Courtault-Michelet. That's unusual on the sleepy hillsides surrounding Chablis. However, once you meet Stéphanie Courtault, the second-generation winemaker now leading the estate with her husband, Vincent Michelet, it's not so surprising. She's full of energy and enthusiasm - and with good reason considering how quickly her family's estate has made a name for itself and how rapidly it has grown.
Read MoreI often tease my winemaker friends in Burgundy’s Côte d’or that my favorite Chardonnay is Blanc de Blancs Champagne. I get a pass on that, though sometimes with a hesitant, sideways glance or sometimes with an eye roll. What I don’t dare say is that I think the most unique expressions of Chardonnay come from Chablis…. This is precisely why Chablis is one of my favorite Chardonnay places on the planet.
Read MoreSo, what about 2018 Chablis? First, there's a lot of it. Second, the excellent, the good and the "meh" abound. Winemakers had a lot to contend with in the vineyards as well as in the cellars, making making the sundry results unsurprising. Fear not. If you know your budget (and do be aware in advance of the impacts the Trump administration's implemented and pending tariffs) and have a sense of your style preferences, and you'll do just fine.
Read MoreAs I’ve written before in this column, 2016 was a rough year in Chablis. Here are a few numbers on the 2016 vintage recounted to me by Didier Picq, who oversees the winemaking at his family’s domaine….
Read MoreI’ve long been a fan of the wide range offered at Chablis’ Domaine Bernard Defaix. So when Didier (son of Bernard, who with his brother Sylvain oversees the domaine’s production today) asked if I would be interested in tasting the wines of the Rully domaine that his wife, Hélène, inherited in 2002, I replied with great eagerness. I’d tasted a wine or two here or there in New York, but I didn’t know much about them.
Read MoreYou can’t beat the name Domaine du Chardonnay for an enterprise that produces 38 hectares of domaine-owned Chablis. Founded in 1987 by a trio of friends, Etienne Boileau, William Nahan and Christian Simon, they had to come up with a non-family name. Those are pretty rare for wineries in Chablis. As they say, sometimes simplest is best, and these guys nailed it for marketing purposes!
Read MoreP.S. If you do (or even if you don’t) visit the Angsts, don’t miss the Pontigny Abbey, the largest Cistercian abbey still standing in Europe. It is stunning from afar and on the inside. There are no vines around Pontigny today, but the monks did plant there. The office of the BIVB-Chablis (the marketing and promotions board of Chablis) is in a lovely building in the center of Chablis called The Petit Pontingy, and it previously served as the abbey’s vinification site.
Read MoreThere’s nothing like arranging winery visits on the road. Learning about good juice while in Milan on a Monday then visiting the winery on the Friday (especially on Bastille Day…and at 9 am) in Chablis is exciting. Meeting people on their home turf is the best way to learn about their wines. That is especially true when the winery is off-the beaten path, and there are young peeps making tasty stuff.
Read MoreI met Guillaume Vrignaud three or four years ago. He seemed shy but friendly, and he was clearly, thoroughly passionate. I really liked his wines. I learned first hand that the way to really get him going was to get him into the vineyard. I will never forget our unexpected climb up some steep and rocky slopes through his vines in Côte de Fontenay and Vaupulent (each strikingly different in many ways)…while I wore three inch heeled sandals and Guillaume sprinted about in gym shorts.
Read MoreKnocking at the door of anyone in France for professional call on Bastille Day morning can be unnerving, even when they are expecting you. Happily, this trio of Dauvissats immediately dissipated my concern.
Read MoreChablis is rapidly changing today, and it’s all for the better. I was thrilled to visit one of the region’s new wine-producing domaines in Préhy last July. There are several new or new-ish wineries in this southwestern corner of Chablis. It’s quite a hotspot for new names.
Read More“Our vineyards are on the left and right banks, all near Chichée,” said Nathalie Oudin. I immediately sensed that Nathalie might be sizing me up. Luckily, I speak “Chablisien” and understood that the family’s vines are clustered around the pretty village of Chichée, about a five-minute drive to the southeast of the town of Chablis.
Read MoreDriving up to the big, beautiful and old stone farmhouse of Laurent and Marie-Clothilde Tribut, I was impressed. It looked like quite a large operation. When no one replied to my knock at the door, I took a few pushes on the swing in the seemingly centuries old tree in the front yard while I waited for someone to arrive.
Read MoreJean-Claude and his wife oversee 12 hectares and run their miniscule winery based in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne north of the town of Chablis. Jean-Claude took over from his father about 30 years ago, and his son, Romain – a drum-playing jazz musician – now works with him.
Read MoreThe 2016 vintage will long live as a legend in Chablis. Everything that could have happened in a growing season did. Brows furrowed deeper and more hair turned gray - or even white -than in any vintage in recent memory. In fact, even the old timers say they’ve never seen anything like it.
Read MoreSome wines stop you in mid-thought. They tend to be polarizing and are either heart-stoppingly delicious or revolting. This is a beauty.
Read MoreChassagne-Montrachet Pinot Noir tends to be lean as the soils are quite high in limestone, and this trait was emphasized by the vintage’s cool weather.
Read MoreGiven my affection for Pinot Noir and Burgundy, and given the fact I’ve spent an incredible number of hours evaluating the quality of wines in order to pass the Master of Wine exam, I take quality references very seriously. However, within quality designations, there’s wiggle room. Last night provided a perfect example.
Read More