I’m just going to come out and say it: Domain Guy Robin’s mineral-explosive Premier Cru “Vaillons” is Chablis perfection, and if a more emphatically classic, outrageously delicious 2019 bottling exists for under $50, I have yet to find it.
There’s plenty of empirical evidence backing our assertion: We taste hundreds of Chablis per year, across all levels, and it’s become clear that Robin is among the fabled few reference points for all elite Burgundy. But today is an elevated take, a sensational combination of vintage and site that should serve as the region’s eternal gold standard. Premier Cru Vaillons is one of Chablis’ most venerated sites, and its wines can deliver quality, texture, and longevity right alongside the seven Grand Crus. Now tack on old heirloom vines, native ferments, and 100% barrel aging in a top vintage that brought intense concentration, and the result is a complex Premier Cru that has absolutely no business costing $45. Adding this to your collection, however big or small, means you’re a sage practitioner of elite Burgundy consumption. And adding the bonus Grand Cru wine below makes you a true Robin connoisseur!
LIMITED BONUS: Those who want a luxurious, rarely seen Grand Cru Burgundy for $79 can secure a few bottles of Robin’s 2019 “Vaudésir” right here.
Back in the 1950s, Guy Robin started assembling a spectacular collection of vineyard plots in Chablis, including choice parcels in five Grand Crus and four Premier Crus. Later, he resisted the urge to replant those vineyards with higher-yielding clones of Chardonnay (as many others did), and now his daughter, Marie-Ange Robin, is blessed with perhaps the richest trove of old vines in the region. Guy Robin’s shrewd vineyard acquisitions included significant stands of “pre-phylloxera” vines. The phylloxera louse devastated the European wine industry, forcing vignerons to graft vines onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks, but it wasn’t a total annihilation. Some pockets of Europe were spared, including parts of Chablis and most of Robin’s parcels: A good 80% of their modern-day vines are on their original roots!
“Vaillons” is one of the larger Premier Cru sites in Chablis, spanning more than 100 hectares along a southeast-facing slope on the west side of the Serein River (the cluster of Grand Crus is on the opposite side of the Serein to the northeast). One feature of “Vaillons,” along with many other cru sites in the region, is that it contains many smaller, individually named climats within it. So, while the label of today’s wine carries the name “Vaillons” only, it is actually sourced from two specific subsections within—one called “Beugnons” and the other “Mélinots.” Both plots date to the 1950s and are, of course, rich in the chalky, fossil-rich Kimmeridgian limestone of the zone.
After a manual harvest, the Chardonnay settles for 24 hours in tank to allow natural settling and then naturally ferments in barrel. Upon completion, the resulting wine continues aging in French oak, 10% new, for approximately one year. It is always bottled without fining and filtering. While Robin’s 2019 Premier Cru “Vaillons” is always a master class in palate precision and minerality, this specific release is also loaded to the brim with opulent and explosive ripe perfumes in the form of yellow apple, juicy peach, citrus peel, salt-preserved lemon, apricot, white flowers, crushed chalk, oyster shell, and lees. It is medium-plus in body and already the texture of silk, finishing long with a satisfying swell of buoyant orchard fruit and mouthwatering citrus. It will more than satisfy with about 15 minutes of air in a decanter, and will really hit its stride in 2-3 years. Serve it in Burgundy stems at around 55 degrees with the lemony baked chicken dish attached.
