2020 Chablis Les Clos
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Tasting notes
William Fèvre is the largest owner of Grand Cru Les Clos, with four of the appellation’s 25 hectares. The estate has four plots, three of which are at the top of the hill, on stonier soils which bring more freshness to the wine. Their vines were mainly planted by William’s father in the 1940s and ’50s, lending old-vine intensity to what is an extraordinary wine in 2020. The nose is pure minerality – with chalk, oyster shell and flint-stone over a base of grapefruit pith. But there’s a subtlety here, with delicate florals shifting in and out of focus. On the palate, this ripples with mineral power. Tightly wound citrus makes for a taut palate, yet with gorgeous dry extract offering a textural richness. The oak (40% fermented in old barrique) provides roundness rather than flavour, building out the wine even more. Intense and balanced, this is a wine of immense class.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
More reviews and scores
A cool, restrained and airy nose grudgingly divulges its combination of lemon rind, green apple, quinine and acacia blossom scents. There is again excellent volume and concentration to the powerful and muscular flavors that also coat the palate with dry extract on the impressively complex and hugely long finish. This is classic Les Clos in that it manages to be at once big and overtly powerful while remaining refined and classy. This is, in a word, terrific. Don't miss! Drink 2032+
The 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 10 parcels scattered mainly over the top of the hill. It has a well-defined, crisp and (for the vintage) quite austere nose due to the location higher up the slope. The fresh palate is nicely detailed with lime and lemon thyme and good salinity. Quite strict on the mineral-driven finish. Good potential, but it will need time.
Glowing citrus yellow. Restrained intensity, a wine of the highest class from the first sniff. At the outset it is all about the fruit, and the stones (undeniably present) can wait. There is a huge intensity of pure white fruit, very concentrated at the finish, inalienably Les Clos. I suggest a long wait before you open your bottles, eight to ten years or more.
About the producer
Established in the late 1950s, William Fèvre was one of the leaders in Chablis’s renaissance. Today he crafts benchmark expressions of fine Chardonnay from some of the top vineyard sites in the region, working with many of the best Premier and Grand Cru vineyards.