Stephanie et Vincent Michelet

Here is a producer to keep your eye on. I tasted the wines of Domaine Jean-Claude Courtault in Chablis, but met with winemaker Stéphanie Michelet at a subsequent tasting in London. There are two labels from a single winery. Domaine Jean-Claude Courtault is Stéphanie's Loire-born father and the original domaine set up in the 1980s. Together with her husband Vincent, they worked in Alsace, but then returned to Chablis where they established Domaine Stéphanie & Vincent Michelet in 2007. Why the two labels? They wanted to divide their 27-hectare of vines into two styles, with the fruitier style from parcels around Lignerolles on clayey soils and early-ripening fruit, and the more mineral-driven wines on limestone soils and labelled under Stephanie and Vincent Michelet. Everything here is picked by machine, the fruit pressed as soon as it is harvested, the must worked gently with no pumps and using gravity to fill the tanks, except for during racking. There is very little wood contact apart from the Chablis under Stephanie and Vincent Michelet due to a small plot of older vines, everything else in stainless steel. The Beauroy also sees a little ageing in used demi-muids, but less than 10% of the final blend, whereas the Mont de Milieu is aged only in 22-hectoliter stainless steel with 10-12 months on the lees.  NEIL MARTIN robertparker.com