2023 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru "Montmains" (375ml)

Michel’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmain, bottled in November 2024, derives from southeast-facing vines growing in clay-rich soils that tend to bring roundness. Wafting from the glass with aromas of acacia, green apple, lemon zest and honeysuckle, it’s medium-bodied, bright and lively, with good focus and immediate charm. Guillaume Michel presides over this 25-hectare estate, with most of the land located in the historic part of Chablis. This estate has long been a reference point for tank-fermented and -matured Chablis, a style that the Michel family helped to popularize in the 1980s. Intense and tensile wines are the calling card here, pure and unadorned in style.(KK)

Note: from Montmains proper. A markedly more floral-suffused nose features notes of essence of pear, lemon zest, iodine and a hint of algae. The caressing and solidly concentrated medium-bodied flavors possess just enough energy to avoid being plodding on the reasonably refreshing, clean and moderately dry finale.