From: Chablis, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Taste: This gorgeous Chablis VV sits in a perfect spot between regular Chablis and Premier Cru Chablis. Vibrant with tons of energy and verve, its fruit+acidity+textural structure thrives in tension and lip-smacking drinking pleasure. Zesty citrus and citrus blossom come to the forefront first, followed by clove spice and bright white stone fruits before opening up to layers of green apple and confit lemon wrapped in a stony and steely frame, wet river rocks, and a saline edge. This will age wonderfully, though it’s delicious right now, and we would never talk you out of opening and enjoying this beauty in the short term!
Pairing: The world’s your oyster in pairing this wine, but we recommend avoiding tomato, beef, and lentils. Seafood like seared/raw/sautéed scallops, Soft Shell crab, Dungeness crab, King crab, oysters served raw or grilled, white fish like halibut or cod (check out the Herb-Marinated Swordfish recipe by Kay Chun, shown below), pasta or risotto with fresh ingredients (including mushrooms!), dishes centered around fresh produce, shrimp or prawns served chilled, fried, sautéed, grilled (with or without citrus), and roasted poultry, Escargots de Bourgogne, and roasted veal or pork all work beautifully with this charming white.
Herb-Marinated Swordfish
By Kay Chun
The founders of la Manufacture are lovers of “la Belle Ouvrage”, a traditional French concept of perfectly crafted work. They bring to their wines the same rigor and precision of traditional craftsmanship found in horology, haute couture, and porcelain making… It is this unique know-how for which France has been famous for centuries worldwide. La Manufacture is committed to excellence and fineness of execution, and it conveys a prestigious portrait of today’s France with yesterday’s values. In the generally qualitative environment of the well-known Chablis Estates and large general Burgundy traders, la Manufacture offers a distinctive and original mindset.
About La Manufacture. Benjamin Laroche, a native of Chablis, founded La Manufacture.
‘La manufacture’ means ‘precise’ – this indicates that the wines, from grapes to bottles, are produced precisely, implying, and in our opinion, delivering wines that are both a) a reflection of their terroir and b) perfectly guided from vineyard to bottle. The result? Chablis with poise, grace, age-worthiness, and purity. “La Belle Ourvage,” indeed!
Because they do not own their own vines, they go out into vineyards and cellars and select the fruit of passionate winemakers. This is more difficult than it may sound, and Benjamin chooses well. His choices are made possible since he’s grown up in the region and has friendships and long professional relationships with the growers mentioned above. After a rigorous selection, long-term partnerships, and extra qualitative plots selection, La Manufacture aims to offer its connoisseur some unique gems that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
Please check out the following words from a visit to La Manufacture by Bill Nanson of The Burgundy Report, from a tasting in Maligny with Benjamin Laroche last updated on 27 January 2016.
The 2022 Vintage in Chablis.
About the region.
