Wine Advisor
Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin, Chablis 1er Cru Montmains 2021
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Seamless and fine-boned, the 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains exhibits notes of honeyed pear, white flowers, almond and hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, it's bright and pretty, concluding with a mouthwatering finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2021 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru has a classic Chablis-like bouquet with scents of shucked oyster shell and light fumé notes emerging from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a saline, lemon rind infused entry, moderate weight, perhaps not quite as precise as the Vaillons yet with satisfying persistence. Fine.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2021 Chablis 1er Cru is a blend of Côte de Léchet and Vaucoupin because the yields were too small to fill the press entirely. Crushed stone and light undergrowth scents on the nose, this blossoms in the glass. The palate is balanced, cohesive and has fine acidity with a touch of spice that is accentuated with bitter lemon on the persistent finish. Lovely.
About the Producer
Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin is one of the oldest wineries in the Chablis appellation, where family members have been growing grapes for five centuries and where 14 generations have been carrying on the wine knowledge passed down from their ancestors since 1620. Château Duvain was created on 1 November 2002 and for 14 generations the family has never left the land. The vineyards of Château Duvain now cover some 25 hectares and are spread over four appellations: Petit Chablis (1.3 hectares), Chablis (9 hectares), Premier Cru (11 hectares) and Grand Cru (4.14 hectares), the result of five centuries of land acquisition and of the family's endless admiration for and adherence to the land. The wines of Château Douaian now have unparalleled elegance, finesse and power, and with a few years of ageing will reveal their unlimited potential. Benoit Droin is now the 14th generation to take over the management of Château Douaian. The young Benoit Droin took over the family winery, which had been in the family for nearly five centuries, from his father in 1999 and, full of enthusiasm and drive, gradually refined the winery and carried out a series of different experiments and changes in the pursuit of higher quality. The vineyard has been expanded to 25 hectares, thus providing a greater source of high quality grapes. While the best Chablis is usually full-bodied and creamy, his criteria is how to create a classic Chablis style that is sharp, clean, spicy and full of pure fruit and minerals.
