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Guy Robin, Chablis Premier Cru “Vaillons”

Burgundy, France 2019 (750mL)
$45.00
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Guy Robin, Chablis Premier Cru “Vaillons”

France’s wine appellations, or AOCs, are based on the premise that the “place” is the “brand.” This is doubly true for those extra-special places deemed Premier or Grand Cru. Seeing such distinctions on a label doesn’t guarantee you a great wine, but it dramatically betters the odds—especially if the Grand Cru in question is “Les Clos” in Chablis.


This perfectly positioned site—the centerpiece of the Chablis growing zone—is one of the surest bets in wine, but it doesn’t hurt that its steward, in the case of today’s wine, is the venerable Domaine Guy Robin. Blessed not only with a choice piece of Les Clos but with exceptionally old heirloom vines on the site, Guy Robin produced a blockbuster in 2017. For me, this is everything one could ask for in a Burgundy Chardonnay: creamy texture, minerality, layered fruit, and racy, mouth-watering tension. If you’ve ever wondered by people (like me) become such fanatics about Burgundy wine, taste this “Les Clos” and you’ll understand. There are very few white wines in the world that achieve this combination of chiseled precision and pure pleasure (and most of them are in Burgundy). And when you consider the three-figure price tags on other top bottlings of Le Clos, Robin’s shines even brighter. This being Grand Cru and all, we don’t have much—up to six bottles per customer until our allocation runs dry!


The value proposition is one reason why Chablis is among the most sommelier-beloved wines in the world right now. The fact that I can actually afford to drink a wine of this level makes it that much more appealing—and Chablis doesn’t reach a higher level than Les Clos. As Burgundy lovers know, this is the largest and best-known of the seven Grand Crus of Chablis, a 27-hectare parcel on a perfectly pitched, south/southwest-facing slope. That westward tilt exposes vines to afternoon (as well as midday) sun, ensuring optimal ripening of grapes in this still-cool climate. Les Clos consistently delivers the boldest, most generous examples of Chablis Grand Cru, as exemplified by today’s old-vine stunner. 



The Robin family has deep roots in Chablis, as we have detailed in many previous offers. Namesake Guy Robin assembled most of the family’s holdings back in the 1960s, and these included significant stands of ‘pre-phylloxera’ vines—i.e., vineyards that were not destroyed during the phylloxera epidemic of the late-1800s. Although the phylloxera ‘louse’—an aphid that destroys the roots of vines—devastated the European wine industry (forcing vignerons to graft vines onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks), it spared pockets of vines here and there; amazingly, some 80% of Robin’s modern-day vines are on their “own,” pre-phylloxera rootstock. Guy Robin never re-planted them (as so many Chablisiennes did) to higher-yielding clones. Today his daughter, Marie-Ange Robin, is blessed with arguably the richest trove of old vines in the region. Since taking the reins of the family estate in the early 2000s, the Robin wines have skyrocketed in quality.



Robin’s 2017 “Les Clos” is sourced from vines planted by her family in the 1960s on the pure Kimmeridgian limestone of the slope. It was fermented with only indigenous yeasts in oak barrels, of which 10% were new, and aged just under a year in the same mix of barrels. In the glass, it is a glistening yellow-gold with hints of green at the rim, with powerful aromas of yellow apple, salted lemon, acacia blossom, fresh cream, white mushroom, and crushed stones. It has a lush, textured feel reminiscent of many Côte de Beaune Burgundies, while on the finish it’s all Chablis, showing its flinty minerality and citrusy freshness. Decant it 30 minutes before serving if you’re enjoying a bottle now and let its temperature creep up past 50 degrees to get the full range of aromas and flavors. There are countless dishes this wine would pair well with, including the attached poached halibut preparation from seafood master Eric Ripert. Wow!



Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceChablis Premier Cru
Soil
Chalky Limestone, Clay & Fossilized Seashells
Farming
'Lutte Raisonnée'
Blend
Chardonnay
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Mostly Used French
TEMP.
50
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
30-60 Minutes
Pairing
Poached Halibut

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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