Duplessis Chablis '17: Doing It The Hard Way

10/11/20 -

We talk a lot about organic and biodynamic agriculture on this web site. These are practices we believe in, and not just because they are less damaging to the earth and to our bodies. Growing wine is about communicating the personality of a particular place. Conventional farming does not silence a vineyard but it can certaintly muffle its voice. (Think about speaking while wearing a mask). Organic farming takes the mask off so that you can hear the vineyard clearly and biodynamics can help tune it to exist in harmony with the world surrounding it. The trade-off is that this type of farming requires more work, as one must forego the easy chemical fixes used to fight pests or disease and the tougher the climate, the harder this becomes. Nowhere has this been more historically difficult than Chablis.

The village of Chablis and its vineyards sit just below the 48th Parallel. That's just about the same as Xinjiang, Ontario or Seattle. For growing grapes, it's pretty far north. As a result, cold weather and humidity have always been problems. Historically, producers in Chablis (and Burgundy in general) have been resistant to organic farming, as disease pressure is higher in this cold and wet climate. But over the past twenty years, a few estates have really led the charge and they include many of the most sought-after names in the village - Dauvissat, De Moor, Pattes Loup, Moreau-Naudet. Count Lillian Duplessis firmly in this group.

Lillian has been in charge of his family estate since 1999, spent ten years making adjustments in the vineyards and has been certified organic since 2013. While the viticulture is progressive, the winemaking is decidedly old-school - the fruit is pressed gently, fermented in steel and aged in a combination of steel and old oak. The wine sees plenty of time on the lees without much stirring and is bottled with only a small sulfur addition.

The result is old-school Chablis, with plenty of acidity, delicate white and yellow fruit and that exposed minerality that can only come from these rocky slopes. These are firm[,] angular wines that feel as though they could cut glass, simutaneously refreshing and serious. Lillian has a tendency to hold his wines back for longer than other producers. We are fortunate enough to be presenting '17s - a vintage characterized by freshness and energy. The wines crackle and snap and excite.

-Sam Ehrlich