Domaine de L‘Enclos Chablis Burgundy 2019

Ah, Chablis, the historic, beating heart of French Chardonnay. The vineyards in this land of undulating hills, just northwest of Burgundy proper, are comprised of an ancient seabed soil known as Kimmeridge clay. These chalky, white strata continue straight north through Champagne and under the English Channel. Their most striking iterations are the luminous White Cliffs of Dover, which have long served as a landmark for sailors. In the vineyards of Chablis, one can often find prehistoric fossils of oyster shell and trilobites- and it is this organic matter that local winemakers believe gives their Chardonnays a flinty minerality. In addition, the cool climate of this northerly growing region allows the fruit to retain its zesty acidity- which results in white wine that can age beautifully for years. Stylistically, winemakers in Chablis tend to highlight these gorgeous flavor characteristics and use less oak than their counterparts in the Côte d'Or. Accordingly, wines from the seven designated Grand Crus of Chablis can easily set you back a few hundred dollars. But they don't have to! We love Chablis so much at ACME that we've done a little R&D for you (aka some pretty killer importer tastings- you may have seen evidence in an Instagram story) and found some across-the-pond, under-the-radar producers for you.

Brothers Romain and Damien Bouchard founded their estate, Domaine de l'Enclos, in 2016, but their family has toiled in the Kimmeridge clay for five generations. In 2018 they completed organic certification for the 70 acres of family-owned vineyards that they farm in the heart of Chablis. Next, the Bouchard brothers built a state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery in the stone cellar of their 19th century home, a former Cistercian Abbey. The winery is located in the center of the sleepy village of Chablis along the banks of the river Serein (which aptly translates to "Serene" in English). The brothers have found records as far back as the 15th century of monks using the waterway to ship their famous wines downriver to Paris and then on to England and Flanders.

Just as their forbears did, all the Chardonnay grapes for the Bouchards' Chablis were picked by hand and sorted in the vineyard before being transported to the cellar. Fermentation happens using indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks before being transferred to neutral French oak barrels. This Chablis then spent some 18 months on fine lees and was neither fined nor cold stabilized and only lightly filtered. As a result, aromas of lemon zest and orange blossom, crushed seashells, and fresh ginger give way to a medium-bodied and fresh palate. Try this wine with some fresh, local seafood and the world is your oyster!