Special Offer Price - $87.95 per bottle with code TESTUT
Chablis seems clearly the most successful of Burgundy’s subregions in ’21, though like its Côte d’Or counterpart frugal yields mean scarcer than usual availability. Chablis' better ‘21s offer once-a-decade concentration/compactness along with the most classic Chablisien aromatics since ’14. If you’ve found recent vintages a bit soft and diffuse, the ‘21s will seem wonderfully urgent, in particular its top examples.
Those of you who smartly snagged a few bottles of Testut’s ‘Côte de Bréchain’ a couple weeks back will already know how beautiful the ’21s have turned out here. And while that wine represents a sort of Platonic ideal for AOC Chablis, this ‘Grenouille’ marks a notable advance in both aromatic complexity and structural intricacy.
The nose unwinds slowly to reveal nuances of sweet citrus and stones along with the usual exotic touches (chamomile, ginger). You quickly sense a more Stoic and serious side to this ’21 than, for example, you find in the ’20 or ’19 iterations. As usual with young Chablis the palate forecasts more clearly than the nose. The toned feel, strong and starched, has a nowhere-but-Chablis appeal, though the middle of the wine opens to just enough fluidity to widen the textural appeal. Exceptionally promising stuff, particularly if classicism and ageability head your priorities.
Cheers,
Jason
