Domaine Race should really consider changing their name to Domaine Racy. Everytime we pull a cork on a Race Chablis, we’re blown away by just how fresh, zippy, precise, and mineral-laden these wines are. Even in warm vintages, which are becoming the norm, the team at Domaine Race delivers terroir-true excellence that is truly nonpareil. But when you hand them a truly sensational, throwback vintage like 2021, they take the pitch and blast it way out of the park. And the astounding thing is that they do all that and still charge prices that would have been standard 10 or 20 years ago. For what many producers now charge for their regular Chablis you can enjoy a top notch, refreshing, loaded with complexity Premier Cru. But it is not unlimited, so hurry and stock up while you can.
Domaine Race is four generations strong, but it was the third generation, Denis, who put them on the winemaking map. Prior to his joining the family business at the ripe old age of 13, all the fruit was sold to local négociants. Denis built a cellar and began bottling under the label Denis Race in the early 1980s. Today, all 18 hectares are used purely for their estate-bottled wines. And Denis’ daughter, Claire, is in charge. She started in the family business back in 2005 and took the helm a few years ago. Her younger sister, Marine, is now part of the team as well, and you can still find Denis in the vineyards.
Stainless steel is the name of the game at Domaine Race. There has never been an oak barrel in the cellar until very recently, when Marine bought a few old barriques to experiment with, but that is not what Claire is interested in. She says, “What we are after is something more natural. Barrels add something we believe a Chablis doesn’t need.” This focus on transferring the pure, mineral terroir of their parcels is a true asset given the ever warmer summers that can threaten the distinct and lovely elegance of Chablis. Claire is fighting the good fight, and based on the success of her 2021 Montmains, she is winning!
Montmains is the Race family’s largest and most important cru. They have several sub-parcels, including some old vines in top lieux-dits Forêts and Butteaux, but they blend everything into their single Montmains bottling. The relatively even mixture of Kimmeridgian limestone and clay in these vineyards combined with a cooler, windswept exposure produces a supremely elegant and balanced Chablis. You can enjoy this gem right out of the bottle, but with time in a Burgundy stem or a carafe the aromatics will really take off. Loads of lemon peel, crisp apple, white pear, white flowers, wild honey, and raw almonds all layer together over a core of pure, oyster shell minerality and super bright, tingly acidity. This bottle is a delightfully refreshing spring sipper to pair with crudo, but it will also be something to cool you down all summer long.
A vintage like 2021 is becoming extremely rare, and there’s no telling when we will see another one, so stock up now as this wine will get even better over the next five plus years.
