Domaine Guy Robin et Fils Montée de Tonnerre Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru Chablis 2020

In the early 2000s, Marie-Ange Robin had a choice. Stay in Paris and pursue a successful career as a fine art dealer or return home to Chablis and take the reins of the family winery. Her decision would not only change her family’s fortunes but also preserve a critical piece of Chablis history. Domaine Guy Robin today is a winery reborn. Marie-Ange represents the fourth generation of vine growers in the family. It was her father Guy who slowly, parcel by parcel, purchased vineyards in the 1960s; yet it is Marie-Ange who has brought the winery to a level of greatness for which it was always destined. Simply put, there are few other Chablis estates with such a rich collection of older vines, and as a result, few other estates that deliver Chablis wines of such character and complexity. 

Because Guy refused to tear up vines for high-yielding clones as was the trend decades ago in Chablis, some 80% of the family’s vines across five grand cru vineyards and four premier cru vineyards are “vieilles vignes”, or older vines. These low-yielding plants deliver Chardonnay that is richly aromatic, reflecting Chablis’ historic terroir like a mirror. Their 2020 Veilles Vignes is a blend of premiere cru vineyard sits with a vine age averaging about 40 years. The fruit is hand-harvested and pressed immediately. The juice is then held in tank for 24 hours to settle naturally. It is fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks and then goes on to age in tank. Finally, it is bottled unfined and unfiltered. The resulting wine has aromas of sautéed lemons, crushed oyster shells, lime zest, grass. This wine is energetic and refined; truly an exquisite expression of Chablis!