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Chablis Les Preuses

Grand Cru

Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
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Service

  • Cellaring

    Optimal consumption: 4 to 10 years

    Ageing potential: 15 years

  • Tasting temperature

    14°C (55°F)

Grape variety

Chardonnay

Vineyard

Site: on the right bank of the Serein River, above Grand Cru Bougros. The parcel, replanted in 2007, is on mild slope dominating the neighbouring vineyards. Beautiful south/west exposure. The next vintage is expected around 2011.

History & tradition: in the sixties, when the Chablis vineyards were all abandoned, Robert Drouhin recognized the potential of this region which had been ravaged by the phylloxera disease a century before. He was one of the first Burgundy propriétaires who set about revitalizing the area.

Soil: the Kimmeridgian limestone contains millions of tiny marine fossils embedded in a kind of whitish mortar which may have been once the bottom of the sea...hundreds of million years ago. This marine origin gives the wines of Chablis their unique flavour.

Drouhin estate: 0,5 ha (1.25 acre).

Average age of the vines: replanted in 2007.

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Tasting

by Véronique Boss-Drouhin

A wine of great elegance. Pale yellow colour with greenish hints. White flower aromas are detected on the nose. On the palate, the wine is soft, round, well balanced, with good stuffing. The fruit flavours are enhanced by intense mineral notes, evolving towards slightly smoky tones. A beautiful aftertaste.

Vintage

The vagaries of the 2021 vintage have greatly affected yields, resulting in one of the smallest harvests Burgundy has ever seen. The whites are less opulent than previous vintages; they are well-balanced with lovely aromatics without excessive extravagance.

Vintage review

Viticulture

Throughout its 100-hectare estate (247 acres), Maison Joseph Drouhin has adopted organic viticulture practices since the late 1980s and biodynamic viticulture since the 1990s. Our credo is to provide « natural answers to natural problems ». All our practices show the greatest respect for the soil, the vine and the environment. Our deliberately low production yields allow our grapes to reveal the precise expression of each terroir.

Winemaking

Harvest: grapes harvested by hands in open-work crates. If necessary, a careful sorting is proceeded.

Vinification: slow pressing of the whole bunch in a pneumatic press. The juice of the last press is separated from the free run-juice. The juice is transferred to an existing wine barrel (or older) after a little settling.

Ageing: the alcoholic fermentation and the ageing is being processed in oak barrels (500 litres, no new barrels) during 12 to 15 months.

Throughout the ageing process, decisions are taken only after careful tasting evaluation. The data obtained is completed through technical analysis. As with every other Joseph Drouhin wine, absolute priority is given to the true expression of terroir and character of the vintage.