Domaine Guillaume Vrignaud, Fontenay-près-Chablis
Guillaume Vrignaud is now the fifth generation that farms this 24 hectares family domaine, all planted very close to the tiny village of Fontenay-près-Chablis. The first planting was in 1955, on a small plot in 1:er Cru Fourchaume, but until 1998 all grapes were sold to La Chablisienne.
In 1999 Guillaume returned after the oenolog studies and a period in Jura, doing a ’stage’ at Stéphane Tissot. He felt since the start that to work more natural in the vineyards would enable him to make wines that reflect their different terroirs more strongly, and to have a soil which felt like a good insurance for the future.
But, as it can be in family businesses, sometimes it takes quite a bit of time to convince the elders.
It was not until 2010 that he started to work fully organically and the domaine is certified since 2013. He is also since 2010 striving to make the vinification more and more natural, using only the natural yeasts, lowering the doses of sulphur and using ’selection massale’ for all new plantations.
He is very happy with the result – and so are we. We are very exited to be able to follow this guy in his work.
The wines are intense in mineral, with prominent fruit with a fresh acidity, just how we want our Chablis to be. They also always have a creamy texture as Guillaume chooses to age the wines on horizontal stainless steel tanks (very common back in the day) resulting in a bigger surface of the wine getting in touch with the lees.
2021 Petit Chablis
Soil: Portlandian, 2,03 hectares in ‘Chemins des Chaumes’ vineyard,
on the plateau below Fourchaume.
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Petit Chablis
Age of Vines: Planted 2008
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and then aged for 8 months in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
2021 Chablis
Soil: Chalk on Kimmeridgian base, 10,4 hectares in ‘La Bralée’ vineyard,
just next to Fourchaume, on the plateau and a north-east facing slope.
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis
Age of Vines: Planted 1989
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and then aged for 9 months in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
2018, 2020 Chablis ‘Les Champréaux’
Soil: Chalk on Kimmeridgian base, 2,68 hectares in ‘Les Champreaux’ vineyard, just next to Fourchaume, south exposition.
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis
Age of Vines: Planted 1992
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and then aged for 10 months in 30% old 500-liter barrels and 70% in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
2020 Chablis 1:er Cru Fourchaume
Soil: Chalk on Kimmeridgian base,
4,7 hectares south-east facing slope.
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis 1:er Cru
Age of Vines: Planted 1989
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and aged for 15 months in stainless steel tanks before bottling
2017 Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots
Soil: Chalk on Kimmeridgian base
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis Grand Cru
Age of Vines: Planted 1981
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and then aged for 15 months in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
2015, 2016 Chablis 1:er Cru Fourchaume ‘Les Vauplans’
Soil: Chalk and pebbles on Kimmeridgian base,
0,85 hectares south-east facing slope.
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis 1:er Cru
Age of Vines: Planted 1990
Vinification: Direct press before fermentation and then aged for 13 months in 30% old 500-liter barrels and 70% in stainless steel tanks before bottling
2016 Chablis 1:er Cru Fourchaume ‘Les Côtes de Fontenay ’
Soil: Chalk and pebbles on Kimmeridgian base, 1,23 hectares
Grape: Chardonnay
Appellation: AOC Chablis 1:er Cru
Age of Vines: Planted 1965
Vinification: Direct press before a 13 day fermentation and then aged for 30 months in stainless steel tanks (partly on the lees) before bottling.