Skip to content

Domaine Vrignaud Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot

£51.00

Our sales team are ready to help you with any questions.

Make an enquiry Download image Download factsheet (PDF)

Domaine Vrignaud Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot has a lifted, granite and smoke-scented bouquet that reveals just a touch of peppermint. It is well defined and vigourous. The palate is clean and fresh on the entry, with a keen thread of acidity pairing the kaleidoscope of white fruit flavours. Quite saline in the mouth but tightly wound on the long, flinty finish.

  • Country: France
  • Region: Burgundy
  • Subregion: Chablis
  • Vintage: 2016
  • Colour: White
  • Grape Variety: Chardonnay
  • ABV: 13%
  • Bottle Size: 75cl
  • Closure: Natural cork
  • Style: Timeless elegance
  • Organic: Yes (certified)
  • Drink With: Roasted rack of veal with root vegetables

The 12.7 hectare Les Blanchots vineyard in Chablis is distinguished by elements of blue clay in its soil and it has a south-easterly exposure that tends to produce a very elegant style of wine.

This is one of only two cuvées of Domaine Vrignaud Chablis in our range that spends a period of time in wood. However, the barrels are not new and only 25% of the wine is aged in oak. The rest is matured in stainless steel, resulting in a wine of great power, richness and depth of flavour that retains the fresh and lively tones of its appellation.

About the grower

The Vrignaud family has worked its estate for five generations. The first vines were planted in 1955, and these still produce the premier cru Chablis Fourchaume Les Côtes De Fontenay to this day. It wasn’t until 1991 that Joëlle and Michel Vrignaud decided to bottle and sell a portion of their wine themselves, starting with just 3,500 bottles a year.

After studying oenology at university and after spending time working at other wineries both in France and abroad, Guillaume Vrignaud returned home in 1999 and gradually assumed responsibility for winemaking and oversaw the expansion of the estate’s production facilities. Under his auspices, the domain now bottles and sells over half of its entire production.

The 19 hectare Domaine Vrignaud is located in the village of Fontenay-Près-Chablis, in the middle of the Premier Cru Fourchaume vineyards. It is a typical Chablisien village, founded in 1130 by the Commanderie of the Templars, and its 12th century church is the oldest in area.

Most of Domaine Vrignaud’s vines are located in and around the commune of Fontenay-Près-Chablis, except for those in the premier cru Mont De Milieu vineyard, situated in the commune of Fleys. Vines are planted at a density of 5,600 per hectare, and they are trained using the double Guyot system. Each plot is worked individually, and in the flatter vineyards ryegrass and bluegrass are planted in between two of every nine rows of vines to reduce soil compaction, to facilitate the passage of the tractor and to reduce soil erosion. Every non-grassed row is ploughed to force the vines to push their roots ever deeper into the Kimmeridgean marl, supplying the characteristic minerality of Vrignaud’s Chablis.

In the more steeply sloping plots, around the middle of May winter cereals are planted between the rows of vines to fight against soil erosion, to assist in the recovery of the soil’s microbial life and to reduce the use of chemical weedkillers.

The Vrignauds are passionate about sustainable viticulture and the minimal use of chemicals in their vineyards. No fertilisers have been used for over 20 years and an annual soil analysis is performed to determine any possible deficiencies the vines may face. Their efforts to maximise the microbial life of the soil are focused upon returning life to the vineyards, enabling them to make the best possible wines, naturally. Recently, they have been experimenting with alternative farming methods, using only minerals and plant-based treatments. They have been certified organic since 2013.

Every parcel of vines is harvested and vinified separately to fully express the potential of each different plot of land. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel vats. In 2008, the vat room was rearranged to allow for the installation of new presses at the winery. Constant refinement of their techniques has resulted in wines that are refined and long lived that can also be enjoyed in their youth. The wines from Domaine Vrignaud are expressive, elegant, refined and simply exude all the classic characteristics that have made Chablis so sought after over the years.