Varietal

100% Chardonnay.

Tasting notes

Pale gold colour.
Intense bouquet of peaches and bergamote orange, underlined by notes of grilled almonds.
The palate is full of fruits and generous with intense flavours of ripe yellow fruits. The finale is fresh with a hint of minerality, very specific of the appellation.

Food and wine pairing

Perfect with oysters, seafood or fish, as well as grilled meats.

Serving suggestions

Serve ideally at around 14°C / 57°F.

Ageing potential

Already very pleasant, it will express its full potential up to 4 to 6 years after its vintage.

Origin

The 27 hectares of Vaucoupin’s vines are located on the right bank of the Serein river in the commune of Chichée.

As for the history, the name Vaucoupin could refer to the structure of the vineyard itself. It could mean that the valley used to covered with woods that were cut at a time or shared between several different owners. It might also refer a former owner, named Coupin.

Our cuvée comes from grapes harvested on very old vines with roots burrowing deeply into the stony, clay and limestone soils.

Vinification and maturing

After the grapes were brought to the winery and pressed delicately in a pneumatic press. The must was then cooled down and left to settle, in order to get rid of the roughest lees. The alcoholic fermentation was lead in temperature-controled stainless steel vats at a temperature between 18° and 20°C (64°-68°F) in order to keep as much fruit as possible in the wine. The malolactic fermentation was completed in order to mellow its aromas and get less acidity.
Then, the wine was aged on its lees for about 12 months with regular pumping over. A small part of the wine (15%) was aged in oak barrels, all of them having already received 1 or 2 vintages to age, so that the oak will leave a discreet imprint on the wine.

Vintage : 2016

Vintage 2016 was really rough on us in Burgundy, but it was nothing compared to the living hell we went through in Chablis!

It all started with a mild winter followed by a chilly and rainy spring that lead to a bud bursting in mid-April. We could have settled for that, as we were in the average trend of the 10 previous years. Unfortunately, a first frosting incident in the end of April caused some huge damage in the vineyard. The first assessments estimate that about 20% of the Chablis vineyard was harmed...and if the vines were to grow again, the new vegetation would not bear fruits. The damage even went to the extent of jeopardizing the pruning for the next vintage. It was a hard blow to take, and the gloomy weather that seemed to settle didn’t help much: the growth slowed down and the vegetative cycle started running late. And as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours...a second frosting incident causes new damage in the vineyard, leading to increased gaps in the development of the plots. Then, in mid-May, a hail storm comes in line and hit strongly the north of Chablis. As if this was not already bad enough, a second hail storm hit the south of Chablis as well as a part of Auxerrois. Still, a rainy weather prevents the vines to grow as expected and also generates mildew attacks.
In spite of everything, the flowering occurs in mid-June in an unhealthy climate where mildew causes real damage in the development of the grapes. In August, the extremes reversed and hot temperatures settle. Which in a way was very positive as it allowed for a decontamination of the vines, but lasted a bit too much and created sunburns on the left grapes. Finally, the ripening was quick and harvesting began on September, 26th. The yields are very low and also very variable because of all the weather incident that showered over the vineyard.

Fortunately, the wines – although still in their ageing period – are already full of fruit, very pleasing and well balanced.