Chablis Chic.

FAR NORTH IN CENTRAL France, where long, cold winters turn into unpredictable springs, special Chardonnay grapes thrive in Kimmeridgean soil, a mix of clay, chalk, and limestone deposits formed millions of years ago. Welcome to the Appellation of Chablis, home to singular unripe orchard fruit wines cut with lemony acid and clear minerality. The French government mandates that winemakers only use Chardonnay to make Chablis--nothing else. A quality system ranks the vineyards from low to high, generic to prestige: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru, the latter made up of seven unparalleled vineyards accounting for a scant 1% of volume produced.

Chablis grapes from the second highest vineyard classification, Premier Cru, grow in 40 sites throughout the region, all boasting superior terroir and sun exposure. Our Looking Glass wine hails from Premier Cru site, Montee de Tonnerre, adjacent to Grand Cru Blanchot, one of the the Grand Crus.

Several families share ownership of 100-acre Montee de Tonnerre. In 2023, 38 producers labeled Chablis Premier Cru bottles as Montee de Tonnerre, among them, Domaine Guy Robin, old vine estate fruit.

Founders Guy Robin and wife Denise borrowed money and planted vineyards throughout Chablis in the 1960's, including their 4 sections of Montee de Tonnerre. Nurturing vines through difficult vintages has proven financially precarious: today, many of the plants--now 80 years old-yield a meager two or three grape bunches. Yet these grizzled plants bear beautifully concentrated fruit and manifest exceedingly expressive wines.

When Guy Robin fell ill and died, daughter Marie-Anges Robin jettisoned her career as a fine art dealer in Paris. She returned to Chablis to take over the family business. She inherited the consequential estate representing the second largest vineyard land in all of Chablis, including the Grand Cru vineyards. Only producer William Fevre has more acreage. For her first vintages, 2005-2007,

Robin relied on childhood growing and harvesting lessons from her father, a master viticulturist. Robin taught herself winemaking, relying on intuition and sound advice from neighbors. As she matured as a winemaker, wines drastically improved.

Robin largely farms Montee de Tonnerre Premier Cru following organic practices such as limiting plowing between rows for weed control. But organic certification will likely be elusive in this northerly location. Potential frost early in the growing season or mildew from late season rain or hail can require spraying or other emergency measures to save valuable vineyards.

Robin's winemaking epitomizes a hands-off philosophy: slow pressings and steel tank transfers for natural fermentations. The wine ages for a year in mostly old barrels, stored in the tight, cool, underground family cellars, keeping with family history. Bottling does not include fining or filtration. Domain Guy Robin imports 10 wines into the US, including the 2022 Montee de Tonnerre Premier Cru, which still operates as a small family vineyard with grapes harvested from the pleasingly old vines by hand, often with family and friends.

Montee de Tonnerre

Chablis Premier Cru

2022

Chablis, France