Domaine Vrignaud Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2025
£39.95
The wine
Fourchaume is the largest and generally the finest premier cru on the right bank of Chablis, running along the same slope as the grand crus. This is the straight Fourchaume rather than one of its named sub-climats, drawn across the vineyard for a fuller picture of it: the lean, tightly drawn Chablis Guillaume Vrignaud aims for, with Kimmeridgian tension rather than weight.
Guillaume joined the family domaine in 1999, when his father was still a member of the Chablis co-operative, and persuaded him to build a cellar and bottle their own wine. It worked: the estate has gone from 12 hectares to 28, all farmed organically. He is exacting about picking date and judges it by tasting rather than by numbers, waiting until the seeds in the grape have turned brown but stopping short of over-ripeness or botrytis. As he puts it, he likes his Chablis lean rather than fat and full, and the wines bear that out.
The producer
Domaine Vrignaud
View all Domaine Vrignaud winesIn Chablis, in the village of Fontenay-près-Chablis, Domaine Vrignaud crafts pure, mineral Chardonnay with real character. A family estate farmed organically, it works the region famous Kimmeridgian limestone with genuine care. This is Chablis with a conscience and a clear sense of place.
Vrignaud favours restraint in the cellar, using little oak to keep the focus on freshness and terroir. Each parcel is given its due, capturing the fine gradations of the appellation. The result is Chablis of clarity and drive.
The range centres on the celebrated Fourchaume premier cru, offering several distinct expressions alongside crisp village Chablis. Each carries the steely, saline signature of the region.
To pour a Vrignaud wine is to taste Chablis at its most authentic. Cool, mineral, and beautifully precise, these are whites for lovers of true Chablis.
