Drouhin Vaudon : Chablis Grand cru "Vaudésir" 2012

Tasting and Serving Notes for Chablis Grand Cru "Vaudésir" 2012 Drouhin Vaudon

Tasting

Color

The wine displays a pale lemon-yellow color, bright and clear, with no golden or green tinges, suggesting a balanced level of ripeness.

Nose

The nose combines mineral and floral impressions with aromas of citrus zest, dried flowers, almond and hazelnut, enhanced by notes of white pepper, coriander and a hint of ripe pineapple or pear, reflecting both the terroir and the barrel aging.

Palate

The palate is ample and textured, built on a concentrated, dense matter that carries notes of citrus and orange alongside white pepper and dill. The salinity typical of the kimmeridgian soil extends the finish, which remains long, complex and persistent.

Serving and cellaring

According to the estate, Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir is generally best enjoyed within four to ten years after harvest, with an aging potential that can extend up to fifteen years depending on the vintage. For this Grand Cru Vaudésir 2012, the concentration brought by low yields and healthy fruit supports further development in the cellar, allowing the wine to continue evolving over time.

A Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir Shaped by Drouhin Vaudon's Terroir

The Estate

Founded in 1880 in Beaune, Maison Joseph Drouhin built its Chablis estate, known as Drouhin Vaudon, around the eighteenth-century Moulin de Vaudon in Chichée, following Robert Drouhin's acquisition of nearly forty hectares within the Chablis appellation in the late 1960s. Today the estate remains family-owned, run by the fourth generation, Philippe, Véronique, Laurent and Frédéric Drouhin, with the fifth generation now joining the business. Spanning one hundred hectares across Burgundy, the domain has been farmed organically since the late 1980s and biodynamically since the 1990s.

The Vineyard

The grapes for this wine come from the Vaudésir grand cru, one of the seven grand cru climats of Chablis, recognized for its amphitheater-shaped relief and steep slopes that curve like an ancient theater. The vineyard benefits from a dual exposure, facing due south on its northern section and southwest on its southern part, which favors ripening. The soil is kimmeridgian limestone, rich in marine fossils dating back some 130 million years, giving the wine its characteristic saline, mineral quality. As with the rest of the domain, these Chablis vines are farmed organically and biodynamically, with deliberately low yields aimed at a precise expression of the terroir.

The Vintage

The 2012 growing season in Burgundy was marked by a succession of climatic difficulties, including frost, coulure and hail, which led to very low yields across the region. Chablis, however, was spared the worst of these issues and enjoyed what the estate describes as a good year, with fewer vineyard problems than elsewhere in Burgundy. The grapes reached harvest in excellent health, without botrytis pressure, allowing for balanced ripeness despite the reduced volumes.

Winemaking and aging

For the Chablis Grand Cru "Vaudésir" 2012, the grapes were harvested by hand into perforated crates, with careful sorting before a slow pressing in a pneumatic press that separated the free-run juice from the later pressings. After a light settling of the juice, fermentation took place in five-hundred-liter barrels that had already held one or more previous vintages, avoiding any new oak. The wine was then aged in these barrels for twelve to fifteen months, a method that favors controlled oxygen exchange over direct oak influence, preserving the purity of the fruit and the expression of the terroir.

Grape Varieties

100% chardonnay.