The artisan tradition in Chablis is alive and well at Chantemerle, Francois Boudin’s small estate in La Chapelle. I have long admired these mostly stripped down wines for their direct expressions of place. ANTONIO GALLONI

Winemaker Francis Boudin is one of the remaining members of Chablis’ true artisanal ranks, vine growers who refuse to be seduced by modern shortcuts but craft Chablis as naturally and as authentically as possible. For the Boudins, this has meant Chablis without any oak influence, or “barrel-free Chablis.” Also in keeping with their natural philosophy, the Boudins did not replant their Chardonnay vines with high-yielding clones, as was the fad in the 1970s in Chablis. As a result, their older vines are naturally low yielding, allowing fruit to better express its terroir. Boudin Chablis is striking in its citrus-inspired flavors, its pure aromas and its mouth-watering, tangy finish. KERMIT LYNCH

The eccentric François Boudin directs this 16 ha domaine. The approach here is serious with 100% manual harvesting, no commercial yeasts, no wood and a light filtration. BURGHOUND

Chablis lovers can delight in 2022, hailed as a year to snap up. Those who got it right produced wines with both freshness and ripe fruit flavours, alongside crispness and signature salinity. ANDY HOWARD MW, Decanter

It’s that time of year again, the great landing of Chantemerle Chablis! This has honestly become one of our most anticipated and voraciously snapped up releases of the year. Australia’s thirst for Chablis seemingly knows no bounds and few, and I would argue none, deliver a better price to quality ratio than Chantemerle.

A little recap on the style and pedigree here. Boudin sits firmly in the traditionalist mould. You won’t find a lick of oak here, instead he favours concrete fermentation and maturation, all in the pursuit of purity. Modern Chablis has an expansive range of styles and I think it’s DNA at times gets lost. Too ripe and rich and it starts to mimic the wines of its neighbours in the Cote d’Or. Too lean and green and the wines lack any real presence and character and start to look like the innocuous factory Chablis that has dominated the region in the past. However, strike that balance in the middle where the bracing Chablisian oyster shell acidity is backed by some weight and texture, and you have some magic to behold. This is the camp that Boudin sits in, leaning on his prized old vine material, careful vineyard management and judicious lees work to instil intensity and texture in the wines, while still maintaining Chablis’ prized mineral blueprint and the requisite freshness.

The 2022 vintage has delivered smiled all around in Chablis. Petit Chablis, which was largely decimated in 2021 due to frosts is back and we thrilled to have these included in our shipment for the very first time. The warm, sunny weather delivered lot of lovely ripe fruit and yet avoided the overt tropicality and clouding of Chablisian terroir that we saw occasionally in 2015, 2018 and in some 2020s. There is plenty of freshness to be found too meaning you have it all. Sumptuous fruit, bright, succulent acidity, and plenty of chalky, mineral character. The trap here is that the wines will be so easy to drink early on that we might forget to tuck a few away!

Please note this is a Pre-Arrival Offer with wines set to land LATE February.