2021 Domaine du Chardonnay AC

From 2 parcels of vines on either side of Chichée with separate vinifications for the 17 hectares. Vinified in stainless steel tanks and bottled under screw cap.

‘About 10 months of elevage with generally smaller tank elevage and a little (5%) barrel elevage. A little more mineral complexity here. Fresher, wider, more mineral, slowly growing with intensity – fresh layers of flavour – nicely steely – this is really excellent!’ Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report, February 2020.

Domaine du Chardonnay was established in 1987 as a joint venture between three partners: Etienne Boileau, William Nahan and Christian Simon. Initially they farmed 11 ha of vines, alongside 80 ha of cereal crops, but by 1992 they had exited the cereal business to focus exclusively on wine production. Since those early days the vineyard has expanded to 34.5 ha and the winery, located by the Serein River in the town of Chablis, has been updated with the latest equipment.

For many years the wines were marketed as both Domaine du Chardonnay and Etienne Boileau, depending on the market. By 2019 though, all three of the original founders had retired and William’s son Arnaud Nahan took over the management of the business, while Thomas Labille joined as winemaker and equity partner. Thomas had previously worked with Domaine Laroche and in new hands the wines are going from strength to strength. A substantial investment has been made in equipment, with old fibreglass tanks being retired and replaced with new stainless steel (even stainless steel ‘barriques’!). The wines have always been great value, classic Chablis and the latest releases are simply better than ever.