Chanson Chablis Premier Cru Montmains 2023 is a crisp, layered Chablis for moments when you're looking for a white Burgundy with tension, precision, and enough depth for serious dishes at the table. The wine gains extra character from the selection of two well-situated plots in Montmains and aging on fine lees in the historic Bastion of the house. Montmains falls within Chablis Premier Cru. What is a Chablis Premier Cru? It is Chablis originating from climats officially recognized as Premier Cru, a higher appellation category, just below Grand Cru.
This wine originates from a terroir where soil, exposure, and location are immediately palpable in its style.
- Location / Origin: Montmains is located south of the commune of Chablis, in the northern part of Burgundy. Within Chablis, this is considered one of the more renowned Premier Crus, and for this wine, two particularly well-situated plots have been selected.
- Soil: The subsoil is Kimmeridgian, the classic soil of Chablis. In this region, it revolves around a unique calcareous marine origin strongly associated with the pure, elegant style of the region.
- Exposure: The vineyards for this bottling have an eastern exposure. This early morning sun helps maintain a beautiful balance of freshness and ripeness.
- Regional Context: Chablis is cooler than the rest of Burgundy and owes much of its crisp linearity and pure profile to this. It is precisely this combination of northern location and Kimmeridgian subsoil that makes Chablis Premier Cru so recognizable.
The cellar approach here is precise and terroir-driven, with great attention to tension, texture, and aromatic definition.
- Harvest & Selection: The grapes are carefully selected. In 2023, the harvest at Chanson ran from September 5th to September 16th, after a warm end to August had beautifully initiated ripening.
- Fermentation: Fermentation takes 15–20 days in vats at a low temperature of 16 °C. This helps to tightly retain freshness and aromatic complexity.
- Aging / Oak Maturation: Afterward, the wine ages for 11 months on fine lees in 228-liter French oak barrels, of which 20% are new and the rest are between 1 and 6 years old. This aging in the 15th-century Bastion adds extra texture and depth, while the influence of the wood remains refined and the minerality is preserved.
Here, everything revolves around one grape that shows its most precise and mineral-toned face in Chablis.
- Chardonnay – Chablis Premier Cru Montmains: Chardonnay forms the complete basis here, giving the wine its combination of citrus, structure, tension, and length.
- 4.1 stars, Vivino: An excellent score that shows this wine is highly appreciated by a broad audience.
