We’ve imported Chablis from the Domaine Gautheron for nearly a decade. Winemaker Cyril Gautheron’s precise, elegant, well-priced white Burgundies have become a staple at our warehouse tastings, our kitchen table, and the cellars of many of our readers. Jasper Morris MW is also a fan, writing recently, “I must say that Cyril Gautheron’s wines are climbing up my table of Chablis producers.”
Gautheron’s wines burst with juicy, stony fruit and lipsmacking flavor. Cyril uses oak barrels sparingly, and only to offer a whisper of support for the intense, concentrated fruit. Today we’re releasing his classic, elegant 2021 old-vine Chablis, laser focused and showing remarkable density and complexity.
Drawn from vines planted in the 1950s, the Chablis VV shows excellent dry material. The wine shows a soft savory spice that suggests grape skins, herbs, and dried flowers. There’s a lushness to the texture of the wine that somehow remains perfectly dry – the depth is tremendous and the finish is long and clean.
The 2021 vintage was a return to classic Chablis, and a step away from the ripe, thick wines of recent years. Jasper Morris writes “This is quite substantial for the vintage and with good length,” finding “an attractive and currently slightly spicy bouquet. Lots of energy.” At $32 this easily overdelivers its humble village-level billing.
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Gautheron Chablis VV 2021
bottle price: $32
