Varietal

100% Chardonnay.
Yield 58 hl/ha.

Tasting notes

Pale gold colour.
Very expressive nose reminding hazelnut and stewed apricot.
The mouth is creamy but balanced by freshness of mandarin and acacia flower.

Food and wine pairing

Ideal served with seafood, grilled fish and grilled meat.

Serving suggestions

14°C

Ageing potential

Already very pleasant, it will keep for at least 5 years in the cellar.

Origin

Chablis, located near Auxerre in the Yonne department, is one of Burgundy's most northerly vineyards. The appellation has 40 climats classified as premiers crus, including 17 main ones.

Situated on the left bank of the Serein, in the centre of the hillside to the south-west of Chablis, the 105 hectares of Premier Cru Vaillons enjoy a particularly favourable exposure and, quite rightly, an excellent reputation. Gently sloping hillsides. Kimmeridgian marl.

The diversity of this Premier Cru's sub-soils is reflected in the plots of Beugnon, Chatain and Minot. Vinified separately, the cuvées from these 3 parcels were then blended to bring out the full richness of the vintage.

Behind the term "Vaillons" lies the notion of a small valley (from the Latin "vallis" or "valles" meaning "elongated space between two areas").

Vinification and maturing

- Pneumatic pressing
- Static cold settling of the musts
- Alcoholic fermentation started in stainless steel vats
- For the wine remaining in the stainless steel vats, fermentation for 7 to 10 days at controlled temperatures (18 to 20°C) to conserve as much fruit as possible.
- After 3 days, around 20% of the juice is drawn off and transferred into fine-grained wooden barrels for the continuation of the fermentation process.
- 100% malolactic fermentation.
- Ageing on lees for 10 months.

Vintage : 2015

The vintage started in the aftermath of an uneven winter, rather mild at the beginning, then very tough in the end. Therefore, the first bud breaks were long in coming as they were observed by mid-April. The spring rapidly boomed with mild temperatures which enhanced the vegetation growth. The first flowers showed up at the beginning of June and the early flowering took place under the best auspices, on average 10 days before the last 10 years. In July, the very high temperatures triggered hydric constraints in some situations. Consequently, bunch closure occurred even though the berries weren’t big enough. At the end of July, the drought symptoms were more and more frequent on the leaves and the growth development was slowed. The onset of ripening occurred on the first half of August with temperatures 2°C higher than the normal. This climatic conditions sourced a very comfortable health status for the vines and a quick maturing. Unfortunately, a violent storm with hail took place in the Chablisien on the night of September the 1st constraining the vine growers to harvest the damaged plots. However, the heat of the last weeks of September allowed the vine growers to obtain highly qualitative musts. The last grapes were pressed on September 21st and the entire crop was particularly balanced and promising.