2019 | William Fevre | Vaillons

Just racked, so this has not fallen clear. Mostly from central Vaillons itself, the 2019 starts quietly, but then shows real weight behind, before the typical lemon freshness of the finish. The fruit through the middle is richer than Vaillons used to be, now with, some peachier notes. The bouquet maintains a touch of the smokiness, but with ripe fruit intruding. Long and complex.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons mingles aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit and white peach with hints of beeswax and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, enveloping but incisive, with tangy acids and fine depth at the core, it's long and saline.

• James Suckling: Lots of chalk and stone on the nose with some dried white flowers and sliced green apples. Medium-to full-bodied and layered, yet tight and integrated, with cooked apple, lemon rind and stone.

Producer Information

Domaine William Fèvre is one of the more prestigious of the Chablis houses and, despite its relative youth, is reputed to produce some of the finest expressions of Chardonnay from the north of Burgundy. The domaine holdings cover a wide range of vineyards, including numerous grand and premier cru Chablis sites. The Fèvre family has been in Chablis for 250 years, but the domaine itself wasn't established by William Fèvre until 1959. William Fèvre himself sold the eponymous business in 1998 to Maisons et Domaines Henriot (which includes Champagne house Henriot, Beaune-based Bouchard Père et Fils and Beaux Frères). The domaine was acquired in 2022 (via a merger with Henriot) by luxury group Artémis Domaines (overseen by French luxury goods billionaire François Pinault) whose other prestigious holdings include Bordeaux First Growth Château Latour, Burgundy's Clos de Tart and Domaine d'Eugénie (formerly Domaine René Engel), Champagne Jacquesson, and northern Rhône icon Château-Grillet. In 2023, it was reported that Artémis was in talks to hand over ownership of Fèvre to Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite. The move was formally announced in early 2024. Today, Domaine William Fèvre owns around 76 hectares (190 acres) in Chablis, 15 hectares (37 acres) of which are in grand cru vineyards including Les Clos, Vaudésir, Bougros and Preuses. This variety of plots gives a complete and full profile of wines – for example, those from Bougros are typically full-bodied and rounded, while those from Vaudésir are more lively, fresh and floral. A further 16 hectares (39 acres) of vineyards are classified as premier cru (these include Fourchaume/Vaulorent, Vaillons, Montmains, Montée de Tonnerre and Les Lys). Historically, the wines were all aged in new oak, although more recently William Fère has changed to the use of barrels that are, on average, five years old, allowing for the quintessential Chablis freshness and minerality to shine through. Harvesting is all done by hand, with rigorous sorting for the premier and grand cru parcels. Fèvre has used Diam agglomerated cork closures since 2005 to counter the issue of premature oxidation which has long been a problem in Burgundy's white wines. Alongside the wines from village, premier cru, and grand cru plots in Chablis, Fèvre also makes a wine from the highly unusual Saint-Bris appellation, the only Sauvignon Blanc-based AOC in Burgundy.

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