Simonnet-Febvre : Chablis Grand cru "Les Preuses" 2022

Characteristics and tasting notes of the Chablis Grand Cru "Les Preuses" 2022 by Simonnet-Febvre

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a pale yellow hue with brilliant clarity, enhanced by golden-green highlights that reflect the warmth of the vintage.

Nose

The nose reveals a beautiful intensity dominated by a mineral backbone. It opens with floral and stone fruit aromas, complemented by subtle smoky notes.

Palate

The palate offers a rounded, generous texture, carried by flavours of ripe fruits such as peach and yellow plum. Iodine and saline touches add complexity, leading to a very long and persistent finish on minerality.

Food and wine pairings

This white wine pairs beautifully with seafood, particularly oysters, mussels or lobster ravioli. It also matches very well with poultry in cream sauce, veal, or vegetarian dishes such as asparagus in cream sauce.

Serving and cellaring

For optimal tasting, it is recommended to serve this Chablis Grand Cru "Les Preuses" 2022 at a temperature between 10 and 13°C. Although it can be enjoyed from 2025, this wine has excellent ageing potential and can be cellared until around 2032, or even beyond for bottles kept in optimal conditions.

The quintessence of the Chablis limestone terroir

The estate

Founded in 1840 by Jean Febvre, the Simonnet-Febvre House is a historic institution located in the heart of Chablis, in Burgundy. The estate cultivates approximately 19 hectares of vines within the appellation, complemented by parcels in the Auxois. Acquired in 2003 by Maison Louis Latour, the property has retained its independence and distinct identity. Today, the estate is led by oenologist Paul Espitalié, who upholds the House's tradition while adapting viticultural practices to contemporary climatic challenges, with a constant pursuit of purity and precision.

The vineyard

The vineyard from which this wine originates is located on the prestigious Climat of Les Preuses, in Chablis. The parcel farmed directly by the estate covers 0.27 hectare. Facing south and south-west, the vines, around fifty years old, benefit from optimal sun exposure. They thrive on shallow soils typical of the Kimmeridgian, composed of clay-limestone and brown earth, giving the wine its distinctive mineral signature so characteristic of Burgundy.

The vintage

The 2022 vintage offered hot and particularly dry weather conditions. Despite these high temperatures, the vines produced very healthy grapes with controlled yields. Spring frost episodes were successfully managed thanks to the lighting of candles in the parcels. The growing cycle preserved a beautiful natural acidity, resulting in a harvest of great quality.

Winemaking and ageing

The winemaking of Chablis Grand Cru "Les Preuses" 2022 begins with fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures between 16 and 19°C, without bâtonnage, followed by a complete malolactic fermentation. The wine then undergoes extended ageing on fine lees. For this specific year, the proportion of wine aged in oak barrels was reduced to 35% in order to preserve the purity of the fruit and to avoid masking the natural ripeness of the harvest.

Grape variety

100% Chardonnay