£22.50, Tanners Wines
This is the Chablis you need for Christmas. It's the one I need anyway. It's not a lean, razor-sharp, steely style but one that celebrates Chablis' potential for richness and savoury complexity, given old vines in top locations and long ageing on the lees without oak.
When you factor in a warm year like 2015, there's the potential for even more ripeness and density, although that doesn't mean higher alcohol in the case of Daniel Defaix's Vieilles Vignes. Nor does it mean a lack of acidity, which was the drawback that faced many growers with younger vines in less favoured locations in 2015.
Here instead there's an opening salvo of lemon and oystershell, some nut, peach and pear flavours, then a concentrated, poised and sustained palate of mineral depth, nutty richness and a long, lemony finish.
Apart from mackerel, sardines and herring, you could drink this with almost any fish, from lobster to salmon to smoked haddock brandade to fish pie, or with roast chicken or twice-baked cheese soufflés. 12.5%
Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy, France
£22.50, Tanners Wines
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