Despite achieving Chablis Premier Cru status in the late 1970s, the “Vau de Vey” vineyard—situated in a slender, snaking valley—was given mention as far back as 1537, due to constant flooding by a neighboring stream. The name has been traced to a Latin word, ‘vadum,’ meaning a shallow crossing or ford, but the most distinguishing characteristic of Vau de Vey is its steepness.
Along with its staggering 52% slope, the site benefits from a southeast exposure, which provides ample ripening in a valley that can produce colder temperatures than most surrounding areas. All this is a natural formula for a wine that showcases power and substance, and if you didn’t know Vau de Vey before, you won’t forget it after trying this 2014 from Hervé Azo. This wine blew us away, plain and simple, delivering such sublime perfume and generous richness at this price that we snapped it up immediately. I can’t remember the last Chablis I tried that delivered this much ‘pound-for-pound’ excellence. I anticipate it selling quickly, so pull the trigger while you can.
The man behind it all, Hervé Azo, originally hails from Brittany. After working his way into a high-powered career in Paris, he made an impulse decision in the early 1970s to work harvest in Chablis. After experiencing the place and its wonderful wines in those few, short weeks, Hervé said au revoir to Paris and settled in. As the years passed, he purchased land piece by piece, the majority being Premier Cru sites. With his daughters pursuing other passions, in 2004—after nearly three decades of growth—he handed the domaine over to Jean-Marc Brocard, a prominent producer with familial ties that run deep Chablis. Thankfully, the Brocards have left the style and practices of Hervé Azo largely untouched, and, just like Krug with LVMH, the label has remained its own separate entity.
The topsoil in Vau de Vey is practically nonexistent, exposing the rocky terroir that we have come to admire as “Kimmeridgian”—chock full of fossilized marine life and crumbled limestone. The vines that contributed to this bottling have been farmed organically since 2006 and yields are kept at 45 hectoliters per hectare, which is regulation for higher-tiered Grand Cru Chablis. Does a Premier Cru site need to harvest this strictly? No, but you’ll appreciate that they did upon experiencing the complexity and concentration of this wine. In the winery, only native yeasts are used to inoculate fermentations and the juice is gently extracted via pneumatic press. Fermentation and aging occurs in 100% stainless steel and the wine is bottled unfined. Directly following, it is laid to rest for typically one year before release to tame the acidity and bring out richer flavors.
The 2014 Hervé Azo Vau de Vey pours a deep straw yellow in the glass with highlighted reflections of bright green. The nose is highly perfumed, hinting at the high-toned of a young Puligny-Montrachet from a top producer. We’re met with waves of yellow apple blossom, toasty hazelnut, oyster shell, nori, white peach, yellow flowers, crushed rocks, and chamomile. The wine truly shows its generosity on the palate. As it warms up, you’ll experience richer and creamier sensations revealing stirred lees, lemon curd, green apple, yellow peach pith, kaffir lime leaves and beeswax. Immense minerality underpins the depth of this wine and, if I were blind-tasting it, I would easily expect to shell out $60-$70. It is without a doubt one of the best young Chablis wines I’ve ever tried, but it will develop gracefully over the next 5-8 years for sure. I recommend decanting for 30 minutes and drinking at cellar temperature in large Burgundy stems. Pair with cheeses like Gruyère and Beaufort while you cook up a classic Dover sole dish with a buttery sauce enhanced with lemon. It’s simple and delicious: easy to make, quite hard to beat. Enjoy!
