Prices - All prices are quoted In Bond (excluding Duty & VAT) and are per case of 12 bottles unless otherwise stated

Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

£145 add to basket 

Dry and racy with lifting acidity and mineral vitality. Refined, with a long backdrop of minerality and citric grapefruit qualities. Open and juicy on the palate but a long steely finish lends it a classic air. Drink 2008-2013. - armit

(on its finings; this one finished its malo early) Medium green-tinged yellow. Musky aromas of lime, oyster shell and minerals, with a metallic nuance. Deep and sweet but brisk, with high-pitched citrus and mineral flavors. Nicely balanced, firm and persistent. Should make a very good village wine. The yeasts worked very well in 2007, Droin noted: "fruit with potential alcohol we measured at 12.5% often finished the fermentation at 13%, without any chaptalization." – 86-89 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08

(from 6 different climats that saw 15% of new and one year old wood). A highly complex and layered nose of algae, sea breeze, spice and white flower that complements well the rich, full, generous, frank and strikingly intense flavors that are clearly built on a base of minerality on the bone dry if slightly less persistent finish. 2012+ - 89-91 points, Allen Meadows' Burghound, issue 32, October 2008

Chablis 1er cru Mont de Milieu

£175 add to basket 

This south-facing vineyard has produced a reduced crop in 2007 due to hail. This is a stylish wine with a perfumed, peachy nose that recalls Viognier. Generous and soft on the palate but with exactness and purity. Acidity levels are a touch lower here again encouraging earlier access. Drink 2009-2014. - armit

Chablis 1er cru Montée de Tonnerre

£175 - add to basket 

50% of the Montée de Tonnerre was lost to hail but the severest storms were before fl owering, thus diminishing the yield rather than damaging the fruit. The resulting crop is concentrated and powerful, with noticeable density and broadness. Notes of white peach and nectarine and a fine thread of minerality to drive this through, this is Grand Cru level. Drink 2011-2017. - armit

(12.8% natural alcohol; assembled and sulfited) Yellow-green. Musky, metallic aromas of lime zest, white pepper, minerals and crushed stone, along with hints of yellow fruits. Superrich, opulent and tactile: this has the volume of a grand cru. In fact, it's almost oily yet boasts excellent verve and minerality. Notes of lime and spearmint, along with firm acids, give superb definition to the flavors of white peach, grapefruit and lemon. A vin de garde in the context of the year. The crop level was barely 30 hectoliters per hectare due to hail, noted Droin, who picked all of this holding by hand in 2007 (normally he picks the old vines by hand and machine-harvests the rest). – 90-93 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08

(20 to 25% of new, 1, 2 and 3 year old wood). A completely classic Chablis nose offers up an elegant, pure and unusually airy white flower and oyster shell aromas that slide into rich, full and refined bigbodied flavors that are textured, sappy, pure and mouth coating while finishing with almost painful intensity on the citrusinfused finish. One of the better examples from the ’07 vintage and definitely worth considering. 2013+ - 91-93 points, Allen Meadows' Burghound, issue 32, October 2008

Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir

£285 add to basket 

Droin make a particularly fine Vaudésir that perfectly illustrates its elegant and graceful character. Soft, round and feminine, there is an airiness to this wine but also a clear layered sense of complexity and the promise of much excitement for the patient. Drink 2012-2019. - armit

(from 30+ year old vines aged in 50% wood, some of which is new). A soaring nose of very toasty and extremely primary if notably ripe green fruit introduces fantastically intense, delineated and relatively powerful medium-full flavors blessed with superb material and huge length. This is not necessarily an elegant wine but for raw pop and intensity, it can easily match any wine in the cellar. 2013+ - 91-94 points, Allen Meadows' Burghound, issue 32, October 2008

Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles

£325 add to basket 

The deeper soil in this great vineyard gives a bigger, more exuberant style. Easy to understand in its youth, this has a wonderful fresh bite to it, a waxy texture and a scented perfume surrounding it. Excellent depth of fruit and a long long finish. Drink 2012-2019. - armit

(also assembled three months ago; aging in 50% oak; from vines planted in 1947) Yellow-green color. Captivating aromas of peach, fresh herbs, spices, mint and butter; actually comes across as less oaky than the Valmur. Then sweet, lush and highly concentrated, with intense flavors of spice and crystallized citrus peel. A dense and impressive wine that finishes a bit aggressive. Possesses solid acid balance but comes across as a bit youthfully disjointed today. Droin prefers the Valmur for its volume and overall balance. (The strong, minerally Vaudesir was in the middle of its malolactic fermentation and was very difficult to taste.) - 90-93 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08

(from 55+ year old vines aged in 60% wood). Ripe grapefruit, mineral reduction and citrus overtones merge into big, full and well-muscled flavors that offer good power and excellent finishing punch and intensity as the finish is impressively palate staining. There is everything this needs to age well as there is plenty of racy acidity that is completely buffered by the generous sap. One of the best examples of Grenouilles in the 2007 vintage. 2013+ - 92-94 points, Allen Meadows' Burghound, issue 32, October 2008

Chablis Grand Cru Clos

£330 - SOLD OUT

Neither dominating nor overly restrained, les Clos treads its path with effortless superiority. Broad, intense and pure with gunflint and minerals, this is a wine that combines all of the best qualities of its neighbouring vineyards together and then raises the collective bar that little bit further. Drink 2012-2022. – armit

(50% oak; racked and sulfited three weeks prior to my visit) Yellow-green color. Cool aromas of white peach, flint and spices, complemented by a smoky barrel note. Suave on entry, then gripping and strong in the middle, with penetrating flavors of lemon peel, perfectly ripe peach and minerals. This has another texture entirely-the texture of Les Clos. Mounts impressively on the back end, finishing with terrific grip and structure and palate-saturating flavor. The wine's dominant note is ripe pineapple but its superb, perfectly integrated acidity extends the aftertaste and gives this wine outstanding lift. - 92-95 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08

(50% wood, approximately one-third of which was new). Despite a moderately high percentage of wood, the influence is really quite subtle if not invisible with a superbly complex and elegant nose of brioche, spice, mineral reduction, white flower and pure green fruit notes that also reveal seaweed and iodine nuances that lead to powerful and ultra intense flavors that are flat out explosive on the strikingly long finish. This really makes one salivate as the intensity is almost difficult to tolerate on the mouth coating, bone dry and harmonious finish. Impressive cellar potential here. 2013+ - 92-95 points, Allen Meadows' Burghound, issue 32, October 2008

Terms and Conditions

Prices - All prices are quoted In Bond (excluding Duty & VAT) and are per case of 12 bottles unless otherwise stated.

Delivery - The majority of the 2006 wines offered will not be here until February 2008. On arrival, we can either:

• Store the wines for you in our cellars in Wiltshire. They would be stored Under Bond, which means that Duty and VAT would not be paid until you have them delivered.
• Deliver to you following payment of Duty (currently at £16.10/ case) and VAT (currently at 17.5%). Duty and VAT rates are subject to change by the Government.

“A very Chablisienne vintage, but with richness and no dilution.”
Benoît Droin