Chardonnay of Steel: Unraveling the Mystery of Chablis With Domaine Long-Depaquit’s Enviable Holdings in Six Premier Crus (Pack $349) and Five Grand Crus (Pack $576)

Join Us for Saturday Sips: Chardonnay of Steel

Come as you are; come any time that’s convenient for you during our business hours to sample selection from this week’s selections. Our staff will be on hand to discuss nuances of the wines, the terroirs reflected, and the producers.

When the dog day of summer hit—earlier and earlier, it seems—the elegance and finesse of Chablis, with its unparalleled combination of lively fruit and mineral-driven crispness, is an ideal outdoor companion. Not a porch-pounder by any means, but Chablis may be the ultimate sundeck-sipper.

Chablis’s climate agrees; it’s cooler than most of Burgundy’s Chardonnay country because it’s further north. Its vineyards sweep down from the hillsides neighboring the diminutive namesake village of Chablis (around 100 miles north of Dijon) where Champagne-like terroir, filled with chalk, lends tension and nervy acidity to the wines and produces the mouthwatering quality that refreshes the swampiest days of summer.

This week’s packages take a drive in the convertible through the heart of the best Chablis country—Grand and Premier Crus from Domaine Long-Depaquit, among the most reliable consistent of all producers in the appellation.

Making Chardonnay: Back to The Origins

All Chablis is Chardonnay, but not all Chardonnay is Chablis. That deceptively simple fact belies the multiple faces that this variety adopts in the relatively small confines of Burgundy—incarnations based equally on terroir and tradition. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais tend to produce balanced, approachable, subtly-oaked Chardonnays that Americans may know best from the 1990s craze of wines from the village of Pouilly-Fuissé.

The Côte d’Or, on the other hand, turbo-charges the concept by producing oaky, complex and long-lived wine. Only the most intensely-flavored fruit can stand up to this style of oak-barrel maturation, but the resulting wines are at the pinnacle of the world’s great whites.

The third style features in this week’s packages, where a cooler climate and northerly latitude barely allows the grapes to ripen, thus ensuring that Chablis makes a leaner style with higher acidity that does not lend itself to intensive oak-aging. As such, these wines are pristine, rarely seeing new oak at all, and only occasionally seeing milder, seasoned barrels to soften some of the electricity.

Chardonnay in Chablis: Acid Trip

Acidity in wine must be handled with the same circumspection as in the laboratory—make a wrong move and you end up with a wincing sting; in either case, it’s a fail. Balance is the key in all things wine, but clearly, wines from more northerly regions face a bigger struggle in balancing ripeness with sharpness, and Chardonnay is the poster-child varietal for ‘If life hands you lemons, make Chablis.’

The line between refreshing tension and acid-reflux may be fine, and one reason that aging Chablis has always been a requirement in Cru versions is that time softens acids and allows the briny, saline-driven savoriness to blossom. Nearly all Chablis undergoes a secondary malolactic fermentation prior to bottling, a technique that transforms malic acid into softer lactic acid and provides a more stable environment. Most Premier and Grand Cru Chablis also see time in neutral oak to further the mellowing process before facing the catwalk of consumption.

What Lies Beneath

“The vineyards of Chablis have a single religion,” writes Jacques Fanet in his book ‘Les Terroirs du Vin’: “Kimmeridgian.”

Kimmeridgian limestone marl – courtesy of The Source

Soil in Chablis; big chunks of Portlandian limestone on top with soft Kimmeridian limestone marls underneath.

In the middle of the 18th century, a French geologist working in the south of England identified and named two distinct types of limestone from the Jurassic Era; Portlandian, which he found in Dorset with a layer of dark marl just below it, subsequently named after the nearby village of Kimmeridge. These strata also run across the Channel and through the north of France, where they become a part of the ‘Paris Basin’ and play an indispensable role in creating the soils. A slow geological tilting of this basin allowed the Seine, Aube, Yonne, and Loire rivers to cut through the rising ridges and form an archipelago of wine areas in Champagne, the Loire Valley and ultimately, Burgundy.

Chablis remains the biggest island in the Kimmeridgian chain and it is home to some of the finest Chardonnay terroirs found on earth. The defined region ‘Chablis’ was recognized in 1923 by the Wine Tribunals as requiring a sub-soil of Kimmeridgian limestone while wine grown anywhere else in Chablis would be classed Petit Chablis. The Grand Cru mid-slope in Chablis maps almost perfectly to the Kimmeridgian outcrop, with the soft, carbonate-rich mud rock capped by Portlandian Barrios limestone and supported by Calcares à Astarte, yet another type of limestone.

And now for the interesting part: As vital as Kimmeridgian soil is to the top Cru classifications in Chablis, it is not the primary consideration. Geologic conditions identical to those experienced by the Grand Cru slope extend both northeast and southwest, but the vineyards on those sites are classed as Premier Crus. As a matter of fact, the reference to Kimmeridgian limestone in the definition of Chablis was discontinued in 1976, a tacit admission that slope and orientation are of even greater importance to wine quality.

2020 Vintage: Superb Harvest with Outstanding Aging Potential

In 2020, the problem for Chablis was not reining in grape acid, but retaining it. Like much of Western Europe, Chablis experienced the warmest 12 months on record, warmer even than 2003. This meant an early start to the 2020 growing season and, while there were outbreaks of frost, the damage remained minor, particularly when compared to 2021.

According to Domaine Long-Depaquit’s Matthieu Mangenot, “2020 was a very easy vintage to manage. With a 40% reduction in rainfall and over 300 hours more sunshine than average, there were next to no disease issues in the vineyard. The dry weather even retarded weed outbreaks and this meant little to no spraying was required.”

One of the surprises that has emerged from persistent summer heatwaves brought about by a changing climate is a somewhat unique ability for Chardonnay to adapt without losing its sense of place. 2020 is a case in point, according to Mangenot: “Despite the heat and dryness, the alcohol levels are normal, the acidity levels are exceptional and the overall balance on the palate means the wines are representative of an excellent vintage for the region.”

Domaine Long-Depaquit

Enviable Holdings

At more than 150 acres, Long-Depaquit is one of the largest domains in Chablis, renowned and respected not only for its sprawling terroir but for a commitment to low-intervention, organic farming. In 2014, upon completion of a new winery, the estate has focused on quality improvements centered on earth-friendly approach; in 2019, the property was awarded the highest Level 3 Haute Valeur Environmentale certification.

Beaune-based négociant Albéric Bichot has managed Long-Depaquit since 1967, and the current winemaker, Matthieu Mangenot, joined in 2007, after dual training as an agronomist and an oenologist in South Africa, Lebanon, Bordeaux and especially, Mâconnais and Beaujolais. He has spearheaded the domain’s comprehensive approach to authenticity and sustainability.

Matthieu Mangenot, Domaine Long-Depaquit

Long-Depaquit produces around 180,000 bottles of Chablis each year, and like most large estates in the region, the lion’s share is village wine fermented and aged in 100% stainless-steel tanks. Wine from their six Premier Cru sites and six Grand Cru sites wines see a small percentage fermented and aged in barrels between two and five years old; Grand Cru Les Clos typically sees a higher percentage (25 to 35%) of oak.

Their flagship cuvée is Grand Cru La Moutonne, drawn from a 5.8 acre monopole vineyard that straddles two Grand Crus (95% in Vaudésir and 5% in Les Preuses) in a steep amphitheater capable of producing some of the richest, most complex wines in Chablis.

The Premier Crus: Structure With Good Length

Domaine Long-Depaquit Premier Cru Package: Six Bottles for $349

Longevity is not only a hallmark of this appellation’s palate sensation: more than half of the climats entitled to wear the ‘Premier Cru’ label had their present-day names by 1429. Chablis Premier Cru represents about 14% of Chablis production, with sites scattered on either side of the Serein River and covering around 2000 acres. As in Bordeaux, where the location of the vineyard compared to the Dordogne and the Garonne determines the style and quality of the wine, the case is similar in Chablis, where left bank wines tend to be more floral and fruit-centered whereas right bank wines are steely and mineral-focused.

Further illuminating the subject is Marc-Emmanuel Cyrot of Domaine Millet, who observes, “The right bank provides complex, well-balanced wines, with a maximum of minerality and vivacity. Those on the left bank are very aromatic, with a less full-bodied character.”

Again, as in Bordeaux, this is the result of soil, topography and exposure to the sun: On the right bank, close to the village, many of the well-known Premier Crus share similar geology, exposition and characteristics with the Grand Crus. To the left of the river, a different style emerges, with many steep-sided vineyards oriented southwest-northeast, east-facing slopes and varying ratios of limestone and clay.

Of the 40 vineyards that fall under the Premier Cru category, 17 are reckoned to be superior, or ‘flag-bearing’ climats. Among these 17, vineyard differences are pronounced and subtle, but with age, the individualism of the respective climats becomes even more apparent.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaillons ($52)
Found in a valley to the southwest of Chablis on the western side of the Serein river, a southeasterly face and high-quality Kimmeridgian soils below meld to make this large climat a sought-after location. At 318 acres, the Vaillons vineyard is made up of eight, smaller climats, all Premier Crus in their own right.

Tensile and incisive, the wine displays classic aromas of crisp green apple, citrus zest, white flowers and oyster shell with racy acids and loads of depth at the core.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Les Lys ($61)
Les Lys is a Premier Cru climat within the larger, umbrella Premier Cru vineyard of Vaillons. While contiguous with the latter, Les Lys has a unique aspect, bordering Séchets but facing northeast over the town of Chablis towards the Chablis Grand Cru vineyards; the rest of the Vaillons climats face generally southeast.

A textbook example of how brightly Premier Cru Chablis can shine; grilled pineapple and yellow apple on the nose with a palate of salt-preserved lemon, crushed hazelnut and fruitcake spices.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Les Beugnons ($56)
Les Beugnons is located at the western extremity of the Valvan valley on the left bank of the Serein River, where the favorable exposure is very favorable for creating expressive and charming wines.

Rich aromatics of pear peel, slight smoke, yeasty lees and candied lemon following through with a juicy palate reminisicent of ripe Mirabelle and a touch of honey.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume ($57)
Fourchaume is one of Chablis flagship climats. At 326 acres, it sprawls along the eastern banks of the Serein river where a favorable south-to-southwesterly aspect and high-quality limestone soils beget a distinctive wine with rounded citrus flavors underwritten by fresh minerality.

A crystalline, full-bodied, mineral Chablis with buttery rich notes of ripe apple and sunny Meyer lemon. Tautly-structured with a bracing acidity and a lingering finish.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaucopins ($62)
Les Vaucopins is found on the right bank of the Serein River in the commune of Chichée, five miles east of Chablis. Its terroir has an uncanny resemblance to the Grand Crus, with southern exposure, steep slopes and numerous Kimmeridgian outcrops.

An elegant and refined wine that displays milk caramel notes behind nuances of oak, there is a hint of sweetness on the palate with flavors of candied fruit, apricot, and quince.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Montmains ($61)
Another flag-bearing climat, Montmains also encompasses the climats of Butteaux and Forêts to cover approximately 300 acres. With a long, narrow southeast and northeast exposure, Montmains sees early morning sun, but is somewhat colder than nearby climats and usually sees a later harvest.

Lively, chalky, pure and accessible with white pepper, stone and some aniseed with a tight, linear focus, the wine is taut and refined with a wonderful finish.

The Grand Crus: Keeping Potential

Domaine Long-Depaquit Grand Cru Package: Five Bottles for $576

The ne plus ultra in the region, Chablis Grand Cru, represents only about 1% of total Chablis production; it is comprised of seven climats within the commune of Chablis itself and in the hamlets of Fyé and Poinchy on the right bank of the Serein River, which runs to the northeast of the village of Chablis. The names of the vineyards (Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir) feature prominently on labels due to the distinct characteristics of each, and are found at elevations between 325 and 825 feet for a total of about 250 acres.

The signature of a Grand Cru Chablis is the perfect balance of fruit-based fattiness and bracing acidity; it is a refreshingly dry wine with nuances based on the individual vineyard, but the common notes to expect include the elusive scent of freshly-sliced mushrooms and a discreet touch of honey. Most impressive in a wine with limited exposure to the preservative qualities of oak is its ability to age and improve, ten years minimum with fifteen years or more well in the realm of possibility. With maturity, the earthiness and nutty-qualities of Grand Cru Chablis increase as forward citrus fruit fades and an intriguing spiciness takes over.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros ($102)
Bougros is located at the northwestern edge of the Grand Cru hillside; it covers nearly 39 acres of slop on the Right Bank of the Serein and tends to produce wines that are considered, rounded and less austere in youth than those from the other Grand Cru climats.

Silky and expressive, the wine offers brioche, toast and ripe green apple with petrol, dried peach and shellfish nuances.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Vaudésirs ($127)
At the heart of the Grand Cru area, the Vallée des Vaudésirs is a textbook example of the geology and history of Chablis, bearing witness to the erosion that followed the last ice age. Long-Depaquit’s vineyard is more than forty years old, planted in the ‘endroit des Vaudésirs’, where, beneath steady sunshine, Kimmeridgian outcrops are the most numerous.

The wine’s bouquet is redolent of citrus fruit and delicate lily and chamomile notes while the palate offers green apple notes, hint of white peach and a hint of coastal herbs.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses ($110)
The 29-acre Preuses slopes continue from those of the Bougros climat at the bottom of the hill, becoming increasingly steep toward the top. At the northern end of the Grand Cru slope, the Kimmeridgian soils and a sunny aspect make for an excellent terroir, but the wines tend to be rich and elegant, if less aromatic than other Chablis Grand Cru wines.

The wine is steely and rich with a gunflint character behind softer floral tones and hazelnut notes.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos ($127)
At 65 acres, Les Clos is by far the biggest Grand Cru climat in Chablis. Its southwest exposure, offering perfect sun, combines with a relatively steep slope to provide optimal ripening conditions. Because of its size, Les Clos’ soil is multi-faceted: towards the top, stones and limestone become more prevalent, whereas towards the bottom, on the contrary, it gets deeper with more clay.

The wine blends two plots and reflects the specificity—the bouquet combines floral notes from the higher of the two plots with almond and hazelnut notes from the mid-slope vineyard.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots ($110)
Blanchots provides a unique soil composition, combining typical Chablis Kimmeridgian limestone with ammonites and a layer of white clay. Blanchots takes its name from this white clay. which retains moisture and protects the vines from hydric stress.

The wine shows a floral nose dominated by lilies and white roses; the ample mouth is generous with citrus and stone fruit, leading to mineral fish with hints of flint and graphite.

Chardonnay Finds Valhalla

Chablis Grand Cru ‘Moutonne’
Domaine Long-Depaquit ‘Monopole’

When the Burgundian wine trade refers to a ‘monopole’, it refers to a single defined vineyard area responsible for the production of a single label from a particular producer. La Moutonne is one such vineyard, six acres in size and lying mostly within the Vaudésir Grand Cru, but with a small protrusion into Les Preuses. Owned entirely by Domaine Long-Depaquit, itself owned by Domaines Albéric Bichot, Moutonne faces predominantly south, although with the gentle curve of the hillside, some of the vines face to the southeast. Coupled with a relatively steep gradient that increases sunlight exposure and drainage, the vineyard enjoys a warmer mesoclimate than vineyards lower down the slope.

Domaine Long-Depaquit, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne ‘Monopole’ ($229)
25% of this wine sees neutral oak for ten months, then final ageing in stainless steel vats for six months on fine lees. The nose is fleshy with peach and nectarine, with discreet notes of jasmine and violet. Full-bodied and generous with the distinct marly minerality that reflects the micro-terroir, the palate maintains freshness and lightness despite the complexity.

Chablis Grand Cru ‘Les Blanchots’
Domaine Laroche ‘Réserve de l’Obédience’

From its headquarters at the Obédiencerie of Chablis, Laroche celebrates a heritage dating back to the Middle Ages, when the Canons of St. Martin of Tours were making wine. St. Martin’s relics were hidden in the Obédiencerie for a decade and Domaine Laroche still produces and ages its Premier and Grand Crus in these historical cellars.

At well over two hundred acres situated among the top vineyards in Chablis, the estate’s approach to maintaining terroir specificity is unique: Under the direction of Grégory Viennois, the winemaking team designate one team member to each plot who is wholly responsible for the management of that vineyard from pruning and health of the soil to the quality and quantity of fruit yields. According to Viennois, “We tend to be fatalists. If the weather and the climate are not with us, we can do very little, so we have learned to work with the weather. We have rainfall and steep slopes, and this defines our terroir and wine.”

Grégory Viennois, Domaine Laroche

The heralded star in the Laroche portfolio is cuvée Reserve de L’Obédience, which draws the best fruit of the Les Blanchots Grand Cru. The pinnacle of Laroche holdings, Les Blanchots provides a unique terroir made of a layer of white clay on Kimmeridgian limestone with ammonites—an ideal admixture that maintains the optimal amount of water for deep root development. Combined with a southeast exposure, this allows for slow ripening and gradual aroma development slowly, just as the wine requires about five years to fully express itself.

Gilding the Lily 101: We know what to do when life hands us lemons, but when the vineyard hands us Grand Cru crop, the options are interesting. Technical director Grégory Viennois explains the steps involved in creating the Laroche pinnacle, ‘La Réserve de l’Obédience’:

“The grapes are hand-harvested in Grand Cru Les Blanchots and collected in small crates to go to the winery, where they are sorted. Then, each parcel is kept apart in order to do the entire winemaking process separately. Blending of the best wines from Grand Cru Les Blanchots takes place at the beginning of the summer every year—samples are taken from each vat, cask and barrel and are then tasted and selected for their delicacy and silky outlines. The aim is to express in the glass the typicity of the terroir as faithfully as possible. We try to get nearer to the perfect wine if it exists: refined, intense, mineral and capable of maturing for at least twenty years.”

Domaine Laroche ‘La Réserve de l’Obédience’, 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots ($221)
Regardless of vintage La Réserve de l’Obédience is a delicate and subtle wine that showcases a markedly different style in its youth than in its maturity. Up to five years, the white fruit aromas, the mineral-driven finish and the extraordinary freshness remain front and center. With a few more cellar years, the inherent richness of terroir is expressed at its best and the soft spices and acacia honey notes, still supported by the freshness, emerge to center stage.

NEW ARRIVALS

Saint-Émilion’s White Unicorns

Defining the right bank in Bordeaux is complicated; there are two major rivers and an estuary, and that’s a lot of ‘right bank’. The right bank of the Dordogne covers the traditional red wine enclaves of Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Fronsac.

Just as with the Médoc , any white wines made here take the Bordeaux Blanc appellation, Vin de France or IPG Vin de l’Atlantique. Known as ‘the land of a thousand châteaux’ (due to an average estate size under 20 acres) white wine remains a relatively scarce commodity in the prestigious estates of Saint-Émilion, as producers struggle to justify charging as high a price for white wines as red. Of the ten ‘right bank’ appellations, including the Saint-Émilion satellites and Lalande de Pomerol, none are applicable to white wines. In Saint-Émilion, white wine is often made ‘off-piste’—from vineyards on the periphery of the appellation itself, but there are some exceptions. Most notable, perhaps, is the estate whose name is more famous than the appellation: Château Cheval Blanc.

Château Cheval Blanc

Château Cheval Blanc is a spectacular tapestry woven from a patchwork of gravel and clay soils that are closely interwoven over 45 parcels. The exceptional terroir originates in the area between Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, where Cabernet Franc and Merlot complement each other and grow in harmony across the estate’s hundred vineyard acres, which attained the supreme distinction of the Premier Grand Cru Classé A classification in 1954—only of only five wine-producing châteaux of right bank Bordeaux to do so.

Cheval Blanc (‘white horse’ in French) has always been a bit iconoclastic; in 1860, before the château itself was even finished, they had added a state-of-the-art drainage system to their vineyards that is still in use today. Adding to that, in Cabernet Sauvignon country, 58% of their vineyards are Cab Franc.

White wines from the château have an interesting origin; the vines were formerly within Château La Tour du Pin Figeac and were purchased in 2006 after La Tour du Pin Figeac lost its classified ranking in Saint-Émilion. Experiments with white wine on a small area began in 2008 as the Cheval Blanc team field-grafted three different clones of Sauvignon Blanc. In the most recent 2012 St-Émilion re-classification, three-and-a-half acres were redrawn to be included within the footprint of Château Cheval Blanc itself, leaving 16 acres for white wines. Today, that vineyard is 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon.

Château Cheval Blanc ‘Le Petit Cheval Blanc’, 2020 Bordeaux Blanc ($199)
82% Sauvignon Blanc and 18% Sémillon, the 2020 is considered by many to be the estate’s best white wine yet. Still young, but quite drinkable with a bit of aeration with aromas of grapefruit, white peach, lemon zest, tarragon, mandarin blossom, stony flint, and sea spray. Finely-etched acidity and a very long, mineral-driven finish.

Château Vieux Taillefer

Is it possible to have your heart in the cellars of Bordeaux and your hands in the soils of Burgundy? Likely not, but the husband/wife team of Phillipe and Catherine Cohen may come close. With as impressive a Bordelaisian pedigree as exists, they have nonetheless chosen to bottle their Saint‐Émilion red wines based on soil rather than the old hierarchical system normally employed in Bordeaux, a of a ‘First’ and ‘Second’ wine.

As for their background, Catherine was studying oenology when she had an opportunity to intern under the legendary Jean Claude Berrouet, head winemaker at Château Petrus. Recognizing her talent, Jean Claude ultimately put her in charge of La Fleur Petrus, where she made wine from 1995 to 2001. After that, she worked as a consultant for many châteaux throughout Bordeaux.
Phillipe, who spent a decade as a négociant in Saint Émilion, shared her dream of opening a winery, and when the 12-acre Vieux Taillefer estate came on the market, they snapped it up.
Says Phillippe: “The property is perched on the banks of the Dordogne River and planted mostly to Merlot, with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and white varietals as well. The majority of the vines were planted in the 1950s, and when we took official ownership just before the 2006 harvest, we found that they had been tended very well, so the potential to do something great was already here.”

Catherine adds, “All our fruit is hand-harvested and undergoes careful sorting before it is vinified in concrete tanks. The work here is 100% organic, thus there are no chemicals used in the vineyards or the winery. There is no fining or filtration, and we employ no consultants. The aim is to produce wines entirely reflective of a great terroir.”

Blanc du Château Vieux Taillefer, 2018 VdF Bordeaux Blanc ($75)
An iconic blend of five grapes. Merlot (the only existing white Merlot vines of the appellation), Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Chasselas from a plot of 75-year-old vines located in Saint-Christophe des Bardes  in the heart of the Saint-Émilion appellation. Vinified and matured in slightly toasted new-oak, 300-liter, cigar-shaped casks. The wine is bottled as Vin de France, or table wine, because the appellation name strictly covers red wine.

Blanc du Château Vieux Taillefer, 2019 VdF Bordeaux Blanc ($180) en magnum
Floral notes emerge on first nose, followed by beautiful grapefruit-pith bitterness and a salinity that calls to mind an ocean breeze. This is specific to the great limestone soils where the very best French whites are produced.

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Posted on 2023.06.10 in Chablis, France, Wine-Aid Packages