Domaine Gérard Duplessis ‘Montmains’ Chablis Premier Cru Blanc 2021
Location: France, Burgundy, Chablis
Winemaker: Lilian Duplessis
Grapes: Chardonnay
Soil: Clay over limestone
Winemaking: Organic farming, hand harvest. Grapes from two parcels with clay over the limestone, is a powerful wine that’s one of the most age worthy of the domaine, up to 15 years easily.
From us at M&L: Where does one start with Domaine Duplessis? The family’s legacy dates back to 1895, so that’s one place to begin. However, it’s in the context of the meteoric talent that is Lilian Duplessis, young winemaker, where our story with them picks up. He is a prodigiously gifted vigneron who has done exhausting work to focus the strengths that lie in his family’s very special terroir while demolishing all expectations about the capabilities of low intervention, organic farming in cold climate Burgundy. There are certainly more famous estates/producers in Chablis (and many of those are some of the best producers in all of France - i.e. Dauvisset, Raveneau) but Duplessis remains our favorite: drinkable and nuanced throughout their myriad Cru and Village holdings, these showcase the uniqueness of the region (one grape, many forms). The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis. Vinifications occur in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage, while Les Clos spends 9 months aging.
From the Importer Selection Massale:
A family domaine for five generations now, Lilian is the latest vigneron of an estate created in 1895, taking over for his father Gerard in 1999. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis.
Largely because of its south easterly exposure and its proximity to more famous Blanchots, Montee de Tonnerre, a 1er Cru Chablis, produces wines of structural density and age-ability usually associated with Grand Cru plots (like its neighbor, Blanchots).
The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone.
Vinifications are done in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage. Les Clos spends nine months. The Vaugiraut, Chabils, and Petit Chablis are raised entirely in stainless. All the wines are fermented naturally and sulfured between 20 and 30 ppm at bottling. Lilian makes some of the purest, most terroir-driven wines in the region.
Petit Chablis, from a single parcel in the village, on Portlandian limestone, is the easiest, freshest wine of the line up. A quaffer that shouldn’t be cellared but drank and shared early on.
Location: France, Burgundy, Chablis
Winemaker: Lilian Duplessis
Grapes: Chardonnay
Soil: Clay over limestone
Winemaking: Organic farming, hand harvest. Grapes from two parcels with clay over the limestone, is a powerful wine that’s one of the most age worthy of the domaine, up to 15 years easily.
From us at M&L: Where does one start with Domaine Duplessis? The family’s legacy dates back to 1895, so that’s one place to begin. However, it’s in the context of the meteoric talent that is Lilian Duplessis, young winemaker, where our story with them picks up. He is a prodigiously gifted vigneron who has done exhausting work to focus the strengths that lie in his family’s very special terroir while demolishing all expectations about the capabilities of low intervention, organic farming in cold climate Burgundy. There are certainly more famous estates/producers in Chablis (and many of those are some of the best producers in all of France - i.e. Dauvisset, Raveneau) but Duplessis remains our favorite: drinkable and nuanced throughout their myriad Cru and Village holdings, these showcase the uniqueness of the region (one grape, many forms). The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis. Vinifications occur in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage, while Les Clos spends 9 months aging.
From the Importer Selection Massale:
A family domaine for five generations now, Lilian is the latest vigneron of an estate created in 1895, taking over for his father Gerard in 1999. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis.
Largely because of its south easterly exposure and its proximity to more famous Blanchots, Montee de Tonnerre, a 1er Cru Chablis, produces wines of structural density and age-ability usually associated with Grand Cru plots (like its neighbor, Blanchots).
The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone.
Vinifications are done in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage. Les Clos spends nine months. The Vaugiraut, Chabils, and Petit Chablis are raised entirely in stainless. All the wines are fermented naturally and sulfured between 20 and 30 ppm at bottling. Lilian makes some of the purest, most terroir-driven wines in the region.
Petit Chablis, from a single parcel in the village, on Portlandian limestone, is the easiest, freshest wine of the line up. A quaffer that shouldn’t be cellared but drank and shared early on.
Location: France, Burgundy, Chablis
Winemaker: Lilian Duplessis
Grapes: Chardonnay
Soil: Clay over limestone
Winemaking: Organic farming, hand harvest. Grapes from two parcels with clay over the limestone, is a powerful wine that’s one of the most age worthy of the domaine, up to 15 years easily.
From us at M&L: Where does one start with Domaine Duplessis? The family’s legacy dates back to 1895, so that’s one place to begin. However, it’s in the context of the meteoric talent that is Lilian Duplessis, young winemaker, where our story with them picks up. He is a prodigiously gifted vigneron who has done exhausting work to focus the strengths that lie in his family’s very special terroir while demolishing all expectations about the capabilities of low intervention, organic farming in cold climate Burgundy. There are certainly more famous estates/producers in Chablis (and many of those are some of the best producers in all of France - i.e. Dauvisset, Raveneau) but Duplessis remains our favorite: drinkable and nuanced throughout their myriad Cru and Village holdings, these showcase the uniqueness of the region (one grape, many forms). The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis. Vinifications occur in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage, while Les Clos spends 9 months aging.
From the Importer Selection Massale:
A family domaine for five generations now, Lilian is the latest vigneron of an estate created in 1895, taking over for his father Gerard in 1999. After going to school and internships in the region (“There was no point in making Sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, I needed to know how to work Chardonnay in Burgundy” he says), Lilian has turned the domaine into one of the very few organic estates in Chablis.
Largely because of its south easterly exposure and its proximity to more famous Blanchots, Montee de Tonnerre, a 1er Cru Chablis, produces wines of structural density and age-ability usually associated with Grand Cru plots (like its neighbor, Blanchots).
The domaine is entirely within the Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs and is planted solely to Chardonnay. Most of the vineyards are Premier Cru (Vaugiraut, Vaillons, Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre, Montmains, Mont de Milieu) and one Grand Cru (Les Clos). All vineyards used for village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru wines are Kimmeridgian limestone, with the Petit Chablis on Portlandian limestone.
Vinifications are done in stainless steel , then most of the Premier Crus (all but Vaugiraut) spend about 6 months in older barriques for elevage. Les Clos spends nine months. The Vaugiraut, Chabils, and Petit Chablis are raised entirely in stainless. All the wines are fermented naturally and sulfured between 20 and 30 ppm at bottling. Lilian makes some of the purest, most terroir-driven wines in the region.
Petit Chablis, from a single parcel in the village, on Portlandian limestone, is the easiest, freshest wine of the line up. A quaffer that shouldn’t be cellared but drank and shared early on.