Domaine de la Motte Vau-Ligneau Premier Cru, AOP Chablis 2023

The bolder Michaut style deftly added to the more restrained style of Vau-Lignau to create a textural, elegant white.  The lieu-dit of Vau-Ligneau is one of Chablis' more recent promotees to Premier Crus status, elevated for consistently producing superior quality wines. Chardonnay grapes are grown on 40 year old vines in Kimmeridgian soil with a south easterly exposure (giving a more mineral style than the Premier Cru Beauroy which comes from south / south westerly vineyards). A deep layer of white clay gives the wine length, finesse and elegance. In the winery, after pressing, gravity is utilised to gently separate the juice from the skins and pulp. 35% of the wine is fermented in 228 litre oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel (which undergoes malolactic fermentation for 5 weeks). The oaked proportion remains in barrel for 12 months.