For the ninth day of Christmas…
For the ninth day of Christmas, we turn to Chablis for a mixed case of Simonnet-Febvre’s organic premiers and grands crus for the true love in your life.
The concept: These are extraordinary wines which, above all when organically farmed, speak so eloquently of their brilliant and distinct terroirs. These are also terroirs, as the 2023 vintage shows well, that are better adapted than most to accelerating climate change.
Yours for: Well, one of the reasons for turning to Chablis is the comparative value for money that the entire appellation offers in relation to Burgundy more generally. The mixed case of 4 bottles would set your true love back around £150 and a mixed case of the 3 premiers crus could be had for around half of that.
Tasting notes:
Chablis Grand Cru Preuses (Simonnet-Febvre) 2023 (Chablis Grand Cru; 100% Chardonnay; vinified in a combination of inox and oak barrels; élevage sur lies for 12 months; certified organic; 12.5% alcohol). Brilliantly pure, vivid, ultra-fresh and crystalline, with a lovely chalk-chiselled and citrus-defined, peach, green apple, apricot and mandarin fruit. With aeration, there’s more lime zest and a little oyster shell. Viscous and intense on the palate, but very linear, the fruit remaining strictly-bound to a very well-defined central spine. The white florality so beautifully but subtly present aromatically returns on the lifted, gracious fantail finish. Lovely already, but better still in a decade. 95. Widely available, with a recommended retail price of €105.60, all taxes paid.
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Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume (Simonnet-Febvre) 2023 (Chablis Premier Cru; 100% Chardonnay; élevage sur lies for 12 months; certified organic). Chalky, energetic and dynamic – and so wonderfully chiselled on the palate. A very complete wine that is almost Meursault-esque in style, with great tension and deceptive concentration and depth and rather more evident complexity. There’s a beautiful, slightly iodine-scented, salinity to this on the finish. The pick of the premiers crus that is close to the grands crus from Simonnet-Febvre in sheer quality and complexity. 94+. Widely available, with a recommended retail price of €39.60, all taxes paid.
Chablis Premier Cru Montmains (Simonnet-Febvre) 2023 (Chablis Premier Cru; 100% Chardonnay; élevage sur lies for 12 months; certified organic). Gloriously floral. Elegant and lifted yet aromatically explosive. There’s a basket of blooms here. Patchouli, acacia, oyster shell, samphire, beeswax and a hint of flamed langoustine shell. There’s whitecurrant and thyme too. A wonderful signature of its terroir. 93. Widely available, with a recommended retail price of €34.80, all taxes paid.
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons (Simonnet-Febvre) 2023 (Chablis Premier Cru; 100% Chardonnay; élevage sur lies for 12 months; certified organic). Fresh, bright, dynamic and lithe, I find this immediately more crystalline and aerial than the non-organic Premier Cru cuvées. It’s more chiselled too, though that’s more a question of terroir. Confit lemon, confit melon, citron pressé and a delicate hint of wild strawberry husks. The richness here comes across as citrus intensity and never as flab. Zesty, chalky and almost crumbly on the finish. Super fresh. 93. Widely available, with a recommended retail price of €34.80, all taxes paid.
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