Domaine De L’Enclos Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2022

Founded by siblings Romain and Damien Bouchard, Domaine de l’Enclos represents a new generation of Chablis winemakers committed to demanding organic viticulture. The family has been working in Chablis for generations. In 2015, they sold their father’s négociant business but retained the 39 hectares of vineyard previously owned by their mother’s family.

The domaine obtained organic certification in 2018, and their underground vinification cellar — built in 2016, five metres below ground — provides natural temperature regulation and is comprised primarily of small stainless-steel tanks, ensuring that the various parcels can be vinified separately. The estate now holds three Grand Cru and seven Premier Cru sites across Chablis.

The estate’s style aims for precise, saline, and luminous Chardonnays, true to the limestone energy of the Serein valley.

The vineyard
The Vaudésir Grand Cru parcel covers just 0.57 hectares, replanted in 1992 by the father of the two brothers. The plot sits within a natural amphitheatre overlooking the Vaudésir valley, with a full south-facing exposure that brings greater intensity and sun-ripened, citrus-kissed character to the fruit, alongside an unusually high proportion of clay blended with the chalky limestone typical of the appellation.

Vinification
Grapes are hand-harvested, sorted on a vibrating table, and gently pressed. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts in French oak barrels, followed by 12 months of ageing on fine lees in barrel and a further six months in tank. The wine is lightly filtered, with only moderate sulphur added at bottling.

Eye
Pale straw yellow, with apricot-coloured reflections and a slightly silky, soft cloudiness.

Nose
Expressive and complex, with lemon curd, fresh apricot, and orange blossom layered over crushed oyster shell, alongside fresh bread, yeast dough, and a touch of sourdough crust.

Palate
A gripping, racy structure with a strikingly saline backbone and a dense, pulsating intensity. The supple palate carries excellent concentration, framed by ripe stone fruit and a sapid, earthy undertone, finishing long, lifted, and expansive — full-bodied and silky, with genuine Grand Cru class.

Drink Window: Now–2032, with the structure to reward extended cellaring.

Food Pairing
A wine built for the table: grilled fish, roasted chicken or other white meats, and moderately aged cow or goat cheeses — equally suited to a turbot in vanilla-scented chicory sauce or a Brillat-Savarin served with confit pear.