William Fevre 2023 Offer

The 2023 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru is a step up from the slightly underwhelming 2022 last year. Fine delineation, citrus-fresh with petrichor and a touch of peach skin. The palate is well balanced, and quite powerful though well focused. A keen line of acidity with more sapidity on the finish compared to the Vaillons. Persistent spiciness on the aftertaste. Recommended. NEAL MARTIN

OUTSTANDING - There is reasonably good typicity present on the more floral aromas of poached pear, lemon zest and shellfish-scented nose. There is again fine volume and mid-palate density to the delicious and vibrant medium-bodied flavors that terminate in a dry but not really austere finale. This beautifully balanced and surprisingly powerful effort could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should be beneficial. In short, this is lovely and promising. BURGHOUND

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - A finer nose - less impact but with more flashes of complexity. Lovely in the mouth - a juicy complexity with really a lot of different citrus aspects - the skin too - and a modest but present salinity. His mineral finish vibrates with interest - that's a great wine - and for the longest time it's growing in the finish rather than fading. That has great potential… BILL NANSON, Burgundy Report

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Yellower citrus - airy and floral. A more incisive style - chiselled wine - properly mineral and chalky finishing - the detail here is really super - that's a great wine in the making… BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has much more composure than the Montmains, more harmonious and poised. Light sea spray scents mixed with Crustacea come through with aeration. The palate is well balanced with fine delineation, quite linear and malic with a concentrated finish. I prefer this to the Montmains this year. NEAL MARTIN

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Ultra fine - again not ultra-large - but what precision to these aromas. Mineral, fluid, beautifully pure - that's not got as much impact as some wines here - the purity, precision and elegance are first rate. BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

Sourced from the upper part of the climat and planted with 40- to 60-year-old vines, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of lemon oil, white flowers, orange peel, peach, pear and a delicate reductive signature. Medium- to full-bodied, concentrated and layered, it is framed by ample, chalky structuring extract and racy acidity, concluding with a persistent, saline finish. This is a terrific performer once again. WINE ADVOCATE

SWEET SPOT, OUTSTANDING - Prominent white flower aromas are nuanced by notes of algae, citrus confit and shellfish scents. The succulent yet nicely tension-filled flavors exude evident minerality on the sappy, more complex and more concentrated finish that delivers excellent length. The Fourchaume and Montée de Tonnerre are both quality efforts, but this already has another dimension. BURGHOUND

The Vaulorent from Fèvre is more mineral than its Montée de Tonnerre, if a bit less lush, with aromas of lime peel, mirabelle plum, and passion fruit. The texture is chiselled and concentrated, with layers of tightly wound extract and a dense, chalky finish. The grapes are from 3.6ha in Vaulorent, which is part of Fourchaume but located on the side of the grands crus. Winemaker Didier Séguier chooses his favourite blocks for this bottling and crafts a 'classic' Fourchaume from the rest (95) DECANTER

FIVE STARS - Pale but glowing, a note of citron confit, an additional depth compared to the Fourchaume. More flesh but perfectly proportioned, fine and elegant, and very long indeed. This should be first class. Flavours will absolutely not go away! As much yellow as white but balanced. (95) JASPER MORRIS MW

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Large scale aroma - that's an invitation! Mouth-filling, incisive - but with an inner density too - this seems the youngest of all these - it's a wine to delight in - especially with 20 years of age. What a great wine - have patience to see it close to its apogee. BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

FIVE STARS - A stunning nose, a little wrapping of seaweed around the stones. Perfectly balanced, then just when you are enjoying the subtlety, you sense the huge block of central white fruit as well. Only a little bit spicy, in fact even quite juicy at the finish. A long-term keeper, potentially a magnificent Preuses. The texture of a silk cravat suggests Didier Seguier. JASPER MORRIS MW

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Hmm - a larger, rounder but still airily fresh nose - a super invitation which becomes ever-more perfumed. Large in scale in the mouth too - a hint of extra generosity but only a hint. The fruit ripe but fresh, floral accented. Here is a great CdB - it's less strict than the previous wines but the one that I'd wait longer for - if you can, give it the 10-12 years that it deserves! BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The usual lime tint to the pale colour. Wonderfully chiselled, not seeing the sunshine here, just the vineyard. A burst of concentrated fruit through the middle, a pure kimmeridgian streak of energy, breadth and depth together, powerful all the way through JASPER MORRIS MW

The 2023 Chablis Bougros Côte Bouguerots Grand Cru comes from steep slopes at the bottom of Bougros, close to the Chablis bypass. Quite taut on the nose, it conveys plenty of tension, citrus peel mixed with hints of vanilla and white chocolate. The palate is beautifully composed with a killer line of acidity, lime cordial, a touch of fish oil, quite intense on the finish that lingers long in the mouth. One of the strongest offerings from the Domaine this vintage. NEAL MARTIN

Sourced from a rather sunny, precocious site, the flamboyant 2023 Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir opens with aromas of ripe citrus fruit, pear, peach and dried flowers. Full-bodied, the palate is giving yet precise, layered and underpinned by fine tension, with a fleshy core of fruit and a long, saline finish. (94+) KRISTAPS KARKLINS, The Wine Advocate

The 2023 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru, which is consistently the first to be picked, has a pretty nose with yellow fruit and a touch of chalk. The palate is fresh and quite linear in style, a "correct" Grand Cru. Steely and saline with a more austere finish compared to its peers. It will need some bottle age. NEAL MARTIN, Vinous

There is a vaguely exotic quality to the aromas of lemongrass, passion fruit, apple and whiffs of algae and oyster shell. The notably finer though not nearly as powerful middle weight flavors possess evident minerality on the super-sleek, balanced and impressively persistent finish. This borderline delicate effort also needs to develop better depth but the development potential seems quite clear. BURGHOUND

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - 4.10 ha, principally the higher section but some lower towards Grenouilles - mainly planted before 1950 by that father of William Fevre. Always the only wine in this - or pretty much any line-up of great Chablis that makes me think - Chevalier-Montrachet!
Lovely higher freshness and depth - an ensemble. Mouth-filling wine - complex but vs some of the previous more inscrutable - a tiny richness complicating matters but the growing breadth of finishing flavour id magisterial - what a finish - undoubtedly a great wine - but this needs plenty of time, return - in the first instance - in 5 five years and then for as long as you like!! BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 4 hectares of vines, mostly at the top of the slope on limestone-rich soils. Oyster shell and light sea spray scents on the nose entwined with hints of orange pith and wild mint. The palate is very concentrated and intense, more so than William Fèvre's other Grand Cru. Very harmonious with a poised, stem ginger tinged-finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. NEAL MARTIN

Year after year, Fèvre's Les Clos is among the great wines of Chablis. In 2023, the pronounced aromas range from grapefruit to nectarine and green apple, laden with pungent, salty mineral notes and a little smoky reduction - a bit of everything, really. The texture is dense, almost impenetrable at this age, but enlivened by a lovely hint of bitterness at the end. It is truly a wine for the ages. Ideally wait a decade before opening; this wine will last at least 40 years. DECANTER

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Yellower citrus - airy and floral. A more incisive style - chiselled wine - properly mineral and chalky finishing - the detail here is really super - that's a great wine in the making… BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has much more composure than the Montmains, more harmonious and poised. Light sea spray scents mixed with Crustacea come through with aeration. The palate is well balanced with fine delineation, quite linear and malic with a concentrated finish. I prefer this to the Montmains this year. NEAL MARTIN

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - Yellower citrus - airy and floral. A more incisive style - chiselled wine - properly mineral and chalky finishing - the detail here is really super - that's a great wine in the making… BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has much more composure than the Montmains, more harmonious and poised. Light sea spray scents mixed with Crustacea come through with aeration. The palate is well balanced with fine delineation, quite linear and malic with a concentrated finish. I prefer this to the Montmains this year. NEAL MARTIN

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - A more relaxed but also more concentrated width of fine yellow citrus. Really large - another structural wine. Ultra-large finishing with a hint of mandarin in the citrus complexity - big wine for keeping if you can- I'll understand if you can't… BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Les Lys 1er Cru comes from a single hectare of vines. Lime, red apple and touches of orange pith and peach skin develop in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a taut line of acidity, silky smooth, very composed with a lot of finesse on the finish. This is one of the domaine's hidden gems and should not be under-estimated. NEAL MARTIN

Sourced from a north-facing site beneath forest cover with clay-rich soils, a parcel selection in Vaillons, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Lys is among the most quintessentially Chablisien wines in the portfolio and is harvested around a week later than the fruit that enters the Vaillons bottling. It offers aromas of oyster juice, white flowers, lemon oil and Granny Smith apple, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, incisive and pure palate that is elegant yet racy and fresh, concluding with a long, saline finish. WINE ADVOCATE

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - A finer nose - less impact but with more flashes of complexity. Lovely in the mouth - a juicy complexity with really a lot of different citrus aspects - the skin too - and a modest but present salinity. His mineral finish vibrates with interest - that's a great wine - and for the longest time it's growing in the finish rather than fading. That has great potential… BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

OUTSTANDING - There is reasonably good typicity present on the more floral aromas of poached pear, lemon zest and shellfish-scented nose. There is again fine volume and mid-palate density to the delicious and vibrant medium-bodied flavors that terminate in a dry but not really austere finale. This beautifully balanced and surprisingly powerful effort could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should be beneficial. In short, this is lovely and promising. BURGHOUND

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - 4.10 ha, principally the higher section but some lower towards Grenouilles - mainly planted before 1950 by that father of William Fevre. Always the only wine in this - or pretty much any line-up of great Chablis that makes me think - Chevalier-Montrachet!
Lovely higher freshness and depth - an ensemble. Mouth-filling wine - complex but vs some of the previous more inscrutable - a tiny richness complicating matters but the growing breadth of finishing flavour id magisterial - what a finish - undoubtedly a great wine - but this needs plenty of time, return - in the first instance - in 5 five years and then for as long as you like!! BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 4 hectares of vines, mostly at the top of the slope on limestone-rich soils. Oyster shell and light sea spray scents on the nose entwined with hints of orange pith and wild mint. The palate is very concentrated and intense, more so than William Fèvre's other Grand Cru. Very harmonious with a poised, stem ginger tinged-finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. NEAL MARTIN

Year after year, Fèvre's Les Clos is among the great wines of Chablis. In 2023, the pronounced aromas range from grapefruit to nectarine and green apple, laden with pungent, salty mineral notes and a little smoky reduction - a bit of everything, really. The texture is dense, almost impenetrable at this age, but enlivened by a lovely hint of bitterness at the end. It is truly a wine for the ages. Ideally wait a decade before opening; this wine will last at least 40 years. DECANTER

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - 4.10 ha, principally the higher section but some lower towards Grenouilles - mainly planted before 1950 by that father of William Fevre. Always the only wine in this - or pretty much any line-up of great Chablis that makes me think - Chevalier-Montrachet!
Lovely higher freshness and depth - an ensemble. Mouth-filling wine - complex but vs some of the previous more inscrutable - a tiny richness complicating matters but the growing breadth of finishing flavour id magisterial - what a finish - undoubtedly a great wine - but this needs plenty of time, return - in the first instance - in 5 five years and then for as long as you like!! BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 4 hectares of vines, mostly at the top of the slope on limestone-rich soils. Oyster shell and light sea spray scents on the nose entwined with hints of orange pith and wild mint. The palate is very concentrated and intense, more so than William Fèvre's other Grand Cru. Very harmonious with a poised, stem ginger tinged-finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. NEAL MARTIN

Year after year, Fèvre's Les Clos is among the great wines of Chablis. In 2023, the pronounced aromas range from grapefruit to nectarine and green apple, laden with pungent, salty mineral notes and a little smoky reduction - a bit of everything, really. The texture is dense, almost impenetrable at this age, but enlivened by a lovely hint of bitterness at the end. It is truly a wine for the ages. Ideally wait a decade before opening; this wine will last at least 40 years. DECANTER

WORTH A SPECIAL SEARCH - From the summit of Valmur. 'On a strong vein of marne - marne with a lot of Kimmerigian - like they have in Vaulorent.'
A wider scale of aroma - higher tones of citrus here. I love the scale of this wine - like the last with plenty of citrus bitters and an energy that intertwines with the minerality - here with an extra generosity of fruit - but not ripeness. Another wine of chalky finishing texture. What a great finish - like the last, almost an austerity - bravo! BILL NANSON, The Burgundy Report

The 2023 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru comes from the top sector on the incline with a south-east facing orientation on a vein of marl. That scent of shucked oyster shell permeates the nose and puts it above Vaudésir in terms of complexity. A superb reduction. The palate is taut and fresh, more complex and certainly more saline. There's a bit of meanness on the finish, but that is not written pejoratively. For those seeking more traditional Chablis this vintage. NEAL MARTIN