Domaine Vocoret et Fils Chablis 2019

Domaine Vocoret et Fils is a traditional, family-owned winery in Chablis, established in 1870. Patrice Vocoret, with his brother Sylvain and his cousin, Jérôme, are the fourth generation of their family to farm the vineyards, but it was their grandfather who was the first to bottle in 1930. Of the winery’s forty hectares, seventeen hectares are Premier Cru, sixteen hectares are village level, four hectares are grand cru and the balance is Petit Chablis. The winery follows sustainable agriculture and is fortunate to work with many old vines. Most of the vines were planted in the 1970's and 80's and the oldest vines, for the Premier Cru Vieilles Vignes cuvées were planted in the 1950's.

As the goal is the best terroir expression, all grapes are carefully sorted by hand before going in the pneumatic press. Fermentation happens in stainless steel, except for the 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes and Grand Cru cuvées, which are fermented and aged entirely in demi-muids and large foudres. The Chablis Village is made nearly entirely in stainless steel. All of the wines are racked off the lees after malolactic fermentation finishes, normally after about six months. Vocoret’s goal, in his words, is to make wines “that show the fresh, crisp minerality of Chablis.” This goal is acheived in spades across the board, the wines are text book examples of the best that Chablis has to offer. 

This is the family's exceptional village-level Chablis, crafted with three-fourths of the fruit coming from the famous “Les Pargues” vineyard and the balance comes from another excellent vineyard just next to Montée de Tonnerre. "Les Pargues" was considered by the monks to be one of the best sites in Chablis and today, many argue that it should be a premier cru. The vines were planted between 1985 and 1990. This wine is mostly fermented and aged in stainless steel and ten percent is aged in foudres. 2018 was an excellent vintage in Chablis and the abundance of healthy fruit at harvest was welcomed by Burgundian vignerons. 2018 was a warm year and Vocoret's wines have ample fruit and balanced freshness.