So, when Jeffrey Alpert, who has brought such luminaries as Ganevat to America, told us he’d found a great young Chablis producer working naturally we had to taste it.

It’s really good! Open it and right away it’s absolutely and obviously delicious, with lots of fruit (even a vague hint of something verging on tropical), a touch of florality, crystal clear Chablis minerality, and bright acidity. All the elements of spot-on Chablis.

But the real payoff comes if you give it some time, over a few hours as it opened up with exposure to air. He raved, so I got a bottle. But I didn’t have time to wait that night, so instead I decided to follow it over a few days, a glass or two at a time. The second night it was more open, with the fruit more prominent but the acidity and minerality a little less focused.

But on the third night, man was that wine ready. The hint of tropicality I had gotten on the nose was gone. There was seashell and citrus hinting at tangerine but more squarely in the lemon family. The palate had become saltier and the acidity was much better integrated, giving the fruit extra dimensionality.

The wine expressed all this in its own unique voice. It was less about the clear lines of your typical Chablis than it was an expression of the spirit of Chablis. JR first described it as “Chablis flavors hovering like colors in a Rothko painting.” It had sounded crazy, but now I got it. 

It was great to follow the wine over a few nights. And we’re even more excited to follow it over the next few months – and to follow Jeremy’s career over the next few years. Great things seem likely.

Buy the wine here: 

Jérémy Arnaud, Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey, 2017