Bessin-Tremblay Chablis Valmur Grand Cru 2022

The domaine’s origins date to the late ’80s, when Jean-Claude Bessin and Evelyn Tremblay took back the vineyards of Evelyn’s father, who had been working with the local co-operative. Neither had any experience as a vigneron—Jean-Claude was an architect and his wife a pharmacist—but Bessin quickly revealed himself as an inspired vigneron. He set a template of traditional, pre-war Chablis, reducing chemicals, hand harvesting yields that were a fraction of his neighbours’, opting for spontaneous ferments and aging in casks. At the time, these practices were almost unheard of.

In 2015, Jean-Claude and Evelyn’s son, Romain, came home to work at the estate. Rake thin and with an impressive Woodstock-era head of hair, he was a prodigiously talented jazz drummer who graduated from the Conservatoire in Paris. Romain’s arrival heralded a shift towards organic viticulture, and the domaine was certified in 2019. He then started with biodynamics (https://winedecoded.com.au/wine-words/biodynamics/) ‘in principle’, a progression he believes brings even more vitality and energy to the fruit.

Antoine noted that 2022 could not have been a more different harvest than the damp and frosty 2021 vintage. “This time, a warm and dry (https://winedecoded.com.au/wine-terms/dry/) summer boosted the ripeness of the grapes. Harvest was the earliest of the history of the domaine. We started on 29th August to keep freshness and energy in the wines, and it paid off.”

You can say that again. Bessin-Tremblay’s ’22s are an exciting a set of young Chablis. The wines have the expected depth, texture and complexity but also vibrant mineral freshness and drive.

Bessin’s Valmur is arguably the best value grand cru in Burgundy. And in spite of its great value, the wine’s potential for ageing should not be underestimated. The 2022 is flinty, with a lacy texture. The nose is edgy, slightly reductive, and tells you it will need some time. But the promise on the palate is sure to deliver in the years to come. It’s a reserved grand cru, rather than a flamboyant one, but its still waters run deep.