Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos AOC 2023 1500ml Magnum

Wine Description for Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos AOC 2023 1500ml Magnum by de l’Enclos

Colour & Appearance

Intense, luminous straw yellow with golden reflections – a wine that already signals substance and maturity in the glass.

Nose

Surprisingly open and expressive for a Grand Cru that typically requires years to unfold. The nose is characterised by mineral austerity: flint, smoke and petrichor – that unmistakable scent of rain on warm stone – form the unmistakable Chablis foundation. Delicate notes of tobacco and wood join these, before white flowers, apple and mirabelle plums, along with a hint of citrus zest, charge the mineral coolness with warmth and depth.

Palate

On the palate, a wine of remarkable complexity reveals itself. Juicy, sensual and rounded – and characterised by an accessibility rarely encountered in Les Clos at this stage. The ripe fruit carries a barely perceptible, extremely charming residual sweetness, without losing tension. On the contrary: pressure and freshness are impressively present. A fine, almost unexpected tannin veil lends the wine structure and bite.

Finish

Long, saline and energetic – the finish evokes the sea and the Kimmeridgian limestone from which this wine was born. The finale is taut and focused, leaving no doubt: this wine has much ahead of it.

Terroir & Origin

The Bouchard family’s parcel comprises merely 0.67 hectares in the lower section of the Grand Cru hillside Les Clos – the historic heart of this legendary climat in Chablis. The vines were planted in 1964 by the grandfather and are deeply rooted in Kimmeridgian limestone and clay slate, which gives the wine its distinctive minerality and salinity.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Pure Chardonnay, hand-harvested on 12 September 2023. Following slow whole-bunch pressing, spontaneous fermentation took place in used tonneaux – without cultured yeasts, without intervention. Maturation lasted 13 months sur lie, followed by coarse filtration and light sulphiting. Bottled on 21 November 2024 as an impressive 1.5-litre magnum – a format that further benefits this wine’s ageing potential.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine of this calibre demands equally worthy partners: lobster with beurre blanc, scallops on pea purée or a classic turbot from the oven. Mature Comté or a subtle truffle risotto will also do justice to the complexity of this Grand Cru.

Special Features

The magnum bottle is no mere gesture for this wine – it is a promise. Les Clos is regarded as the noblest of all Chablis Grand Crus, and this 2023 demonstrates, despite its early accessibility, the potential for at least 10 to 15 years of cellar ageing. Those with the patience to wait will be rewarded.