Chablis "à l'ouest" AOC sans sulfite ajouté 2023

A powerful, unembellished Chablis from the heart of the appellation, vinified without sulphur in the cellar and showing that openness clearly: intense golden yellow, dense in the glass, and an energy that carries through from the very first sip. Precise, without ever feeling cool or austere.

Three hectares of vines, planted in 1984, facing south and south-east, rooted in the Kimmeridgian soil of Chablis. Romain and Damien Bouchard, the fourth generation of a Chablis winegrowing family, sold their father's négociant house in 2015, kept the 29 hectares of vineyards and founded Domaine de l'Enclos from them in 2016. Their base is a 19th-century estate, once home to the monks of Pontigny, beneath which lies a 450-square-metre gravity-flow cellar that does away with the need for any pump.

Chardonnay, hand-harvested on 19 September 2023. Fermentation starts spontaneously with wild yeasts, after which the wine rests for 16 months on fine lees in stainless steel tank, without oak. Bottled on 2 April 2025 with a minimal sulphur addition of 10 mg/l. 13.0% vol., dry.

On the nose, ripe yellow fruit, along with mango, lime and papaya, light tobacco from the long lees ageing and a hint of white chocolate. On the palate, the acidity takes hold first: lively, mouth-watering, with a salinity that lingers long. The minerality frames it all.

Organic viticulture since 2015, biodynamic principles since 2017, soils nourished with organic compost. No fining in the cellar, just a gentle filtration. Sans sulfite ajouté means exactly that here: no sulphur until bottling, where 10 mg/l is added. Left open in the fridge for two days, it shows even more facets than when freshly opened.