2021 Robert Goulley Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons"

Frédéric Gueguen, who now manages the equivalent of 36 ha, describes the 2021 vintage as one that "hit us with a damaging series of below zero night and then sever attacks of both mildew and oidium. Moreover, the flowering was slow though fortunately there wasn't too much shatter. We chose to begin picking on the 24th of September and brought in reasonably ripe fruit that required careful sorting. Yields were basically off two-thirds with low potential alcohols of around 11%. As to the wines, they are actually quite well-balanced though they don't have the density of the 2019s or 2020s." Fans of the domaine will note that Gueguen has again expanded the range considerably since 2020 with the addition of several négociant wines and he added several more in 2021. He also noted that now all of the fermentations are done with indigenous yeasts and that all the wines are now bottled using composite corks. This could be from nowhere else but Chablis with its nose of algae, iodine and shrimp shell along with ample citrus and white pepper nuances. There is terrific punch to the relatively refined middleweight flavors that deliver very solid length as well as slightly better depth on the moderately dry finale. Lovely. *Burghound Outstanding!*