As our legion of Burgundy lovers out there can attest, we’ve been enthusiastic buyers of 2014 white Burgundies. But what about 2015? Burgundy, and its northern-most outpost, Chablis, is still a place on our warming planet that is subject to vintage variations, so what’s the story?
I think this Premier Cru Chablis from the Boudin family offers a clear answer: Whereas young Chablis can be rather austere (not a bad thing, by the way), this one is forward and open now, intensely perfumed with a nice layer of appley fruit counterbalanced by the classic oyster shell minerality of the appellation. Sourced from the famous “Fourchaume” Premier Cru, on the eastern bank of the Serein River near Chablis’ tight cluster of Grand Crus, it is an expressive, authentically ‘old-school’ Chablis (label included) that remains undervalued despite a stellar track record. In fact, some subscribers may recall my reaction to the 2014 bottling of this wine—I essentially raced a few other buyers across the room at a trade tasting to be the first to lock down an allocation. Sometimes it pays to be pushy: they were nice enough to give us early dibs on the 2015, so be sure to grab some! Not only can you open one with pleasure now, it will definitely reward 5-10 years of aging.
Indeed, this is still Chablis we’re talking about, so when we speak of “forward” vintages you still need to think in relative terms. There is still plenty of the trademark acidity and minerality here to ensure a long life ahead—these are still some of the most classically styled Chablis wines around; the Boudins are hardly about to put some low-acid, sweet, ‘international’ style of Chardonnay out there.
Adhemar Boudin, who started making Chablis from his family’s vines in the 1960s, was the son of a cooper. He disliked everything about the cooperage business and wanted nothing to do with barrels when it came to winemaking. He passed this philosophy along to his son, Francis, who now manages their estate, which is called Domaine de Chantemerle (as often happens with European wines, you see both a ‘domaine’ name and a family name on the label, and on wine lists you’re likely to see the wines listed as ‘Domaine A&F Boudin’ or ‘Domaine de Chantemerle,’ or some combination of the two). The Boudin/Chantemerle wines are fermented and aged in a mix of lined concrete tanks and stainless steel, to allow for as pure an expression of their terroir as possible. Their vineyard holdings have an average age of about 40 years, delivering low yields of concentrated fruit from the classic Kimmeridgian limestone soils of Chablis. Francis Boudin whole-cluster presses his grapes into tanks for fermentation using only ambient yeasts.
Given its aspect and positioning close to the Chablis
grands crus (although with less southern exposure), the Fourchaume Premier Cru often delivers wines approaching Grand Cru breadth and intensity—as was the case with this 2015. I’m compelled to reiterate how much wine you get for the price here: In the glass it’s a classic straw-gold with some green reflections at the rim, while the expressive nose offers up notes of apple blossom, meyer lemon, fresh hawthorne flowers, raw hazelnut, bread dough, fresh cream, nori, and of course the ocean mist/oyster shell savor typical of great Chablis. It is a deep and well-rounded style, characteristic of 2015, but there is definitely enough acidity to age this wine. If you’re enjoying it now, decant it a good hour before serving in Burgundy stems. I personally don’t like to drink Chablis at ‘refrigerator’ temperature but rather closer to ‘cellar’ temperature—at around 55 degrees I feel like so much more texture and aroma comes out. Attached is a
recipe for pasta with goat cheese, lemon, and asparagus to pair with this wine. I can’t think of a better way to welcome Spring in earnest.
