Domaine Julien Brocard Les 7 Lieux Chablis 1er Cru Vaudevey 2022

The Chablis 1er Cru Vaudevey is part of Julien Brocard's Les 7 Lieux range, devoted to the distinctive terroirs of the Chablis vineyards. This premier cru on the left bank of the Serein stretches across slopes to the west of Chablis. The vines, around thirty years old, sink their roots into the Kimmeridgian terroir, made up of marls and limestones rich in fossilised oysters, under a semi-continental climate that preserves the Chardonnay's freshness.

The vines are farmed biodynamically. The harvest is vinified with native yeasts: alcoholic fermentation takes place at a temperature regulated between 18 and 20 °C, then malolactic fermentation is completed. The wine is then aged for fourteen months on the lees in large oak vats (foudres), large-volume vessels that bring texture and depth without marking the wine with oak, while preserving the precision and minerality of the terroir.

This wine reveals notes of acacia blossom, hawthorn, fresh herbs, lemon, green apple, pear, white pepper and nutmeg. The pale yellow colour with silvery glints heralds a floral nose that gives way to a core of fresh herbs. The palate, precise and seductive, rests on fine tension before a spicy, persistent and refreshing finish.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.