From: Chablis, Burgundy, France

Varietal: Chardonnay

About and Taste: The Bessin-Tremblay Chablis Vieilles Vignes is one of the domaine's most popular wines – and it's easy to see why.

Tasting Notes: Beautiful, perfumed aromas of stone fruit and citrus announce the wine before the crunchy palate texture and acid verve drive it to an utterly satisfying finish. It’s intense, mineral, and finely saline, with a compact, rocky structure to balance the classic old vine concentration and a twist of skin tannin on the long finish. Magic.

Pairing: Rich seafood such as seared scallops or baked crab. Fine fish such as Dover sole, turbot and halibut. Salmon with a beurre blanc. Simply grilled veal or pork chops, especially with mushrooms. Washed-rind cheeses. Grilled asparagus, or potato croquettes. These simple Miso-Glazed Grilled Scallops by Mark Bittman are a beautiful partner to this chablis. Cheers!

The Domaine. Domaine Bessin-Tremblay has been around since 1989, owned by Jean-Claude and Eveylne Bessin, although the family has been in the wine business since the 1800s. The estate is in La Chapelle Vaupelteigne, just north of the town of Chablis, with total vineyard area of around 12 hectares across Chablis AOC, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru classifications.

Jean Claude and Evelyne's son, Romain, is now heavily involved in the business, and they work tirelessly in the vineyard to ensure that the frut is of the highest quality; the stellar reviews of their wines show that this is very much the case.

Notes from the Importer. Drawn from three hectares on the steep slopes opposite Fourchaume, Bessin’s flagship cuvée is blended from six parcels of the Domaine’s oldest villages-level vines in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne. The bulk of these vines were planted between 1950 and 1974, across both Kimmeridgian marl and Portlandian soils of varying exposures.

The grapes were whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented and aged for 18 months in a temperature-controlled tank with a small amount of neutral oak involved. It’s intense, mineral, and finely saline, with a compact, rocky structure to balance the classic old vine concentration and a twist of skin tannin on the long finish. Magic.