2020 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru

Isabelle Raveneau began with a lament for the 2021 vintage, not the first that I had heard during my travels. “Flowering did not go well in 2021, likewise the frosts,” she said. “We have lost around 60%, even 80% in some places. You never know what that figure will be.” As is customary, I tasted the complete range of the latest vintage (2019 this year), in addition to the 2020 vintage in barrel. “The 2020 season started really early in terms of budding,” she continued. “It was a nice spring, and dry in the summer. We started picking on August 28 . We were happy with the size of harvest, a decent crop between 45 and 50hl/ha, just a little smaller than 2018. As the crop was larger than 2019, there is a crispness, and while it’s not classic Chablis, it is more classic than 2019. The 2020 is very drinkable, but such a dense vintage compared to 2019. The 2019 is more powerful than the 2020, since in 2019 there was half the normal crop due to the frost and the hot, dry summer – we lost a lot of sunburned berries. We started the harvest in early September. The wines are more powerful and concentrated, and also higher in alcohol compared to 2020. I find that there is more oak influence on the 2019s because of the smaller crop. The idea is not to flavor the wines, rather just to slowly oxidize them during the élevage.”