2016 J. Moreau et Fils Vaucoupin Chablis Premier Cru 750 ml

Pleasure, Provenance, and Pedigree

We just returned home after a three-week trip to France which took us everywhere, from the sun-baked Roussillon in the south to the chilly, chalky hills of Champagne in the north. We can say unequivocally that sipping the 2016 J. Moreau & Fils Vaucoupin Chablis Premier Cru—while our oyster-sucking winemaker friend did his futile best to keep up—was one of the highlights of the entire trip. It’s an intense and lively expression, full of golden delicious apple, lemon pith, acacia, and beautiful acidity that delivers exactly what quality Chablis stands for: straight-up Chardonnay purity.

Premier Cru Chablis has long been a favorite category of wines for lovers of French Chardonnay who might not have the wallets to back a serious white Burgundy habit (e.g. wine professionals like us). First established in 1967, Chablis Premier Cru is an elite category, encompassing just 14% of Chablis vineyards. Much like the Grands Crus, Chablis Premier Cru are carefully delineated: The vineyards must be planted on limestone slopes that were formed during the Kimmeridgian period.

Chablis is defined by its Kimmeridgian soil, which consists largely of the fossilized remains of the mollusk Exogyra Virgula, which were deposited in a geologic blink of an eye (over a period of just 5 million years) about 150 million years ago. This special soil—crumbly, porous, imprinted with the tiny fossilized oyster shells—has been long known for producing the incomparable Chardonnay in Champagne and Chablis, and is the sine qua non of the Chablis Grands Crus, as well as of top Premiers Crus like Vaucoupin.

Vaucoupin is a 27-acre sliver of a Premier Cru vineyard in the village of Chichée in southwestern Chablis. The Vaucoupin climat earned its Premier Cru status through its coveted combination of Kimmeridgian marl soils and eastern exposure, which produces a wine of “great depth, great drive, and a restrained, citrus-drenched finish” according to James Suckling, who gave J. Moreau’s 2016 Vaucoupin an impressive 93-point score.

J. Moreau is one of the oldest and most revered names in Chablis. The house was founded in 1814, after a Jean-Joseph Moreau, a cooper, married into a winemaking family. He eventually took control of the wine production, and the family’s success in the region is written in its longevity, and in the proliferation of quality Chablis wines bearing the Moreau name.

In Chablis, variable weather is always threatening to shrink the overall yield, and 2016 was pummeled by a frost and two hailstorms. Fortunately, favorable weather late in the vintage benefitted the grapes that had survived the season’s earlier trials, and resulted in what Vinous calls a vintage of “quality over quantity.” The Vaucoupin underwent fermentation and 12 months of aging on the lees. 15 percent of the wine is aged in used oak—just enough to soften its edges and impart a tiny bit of oaky richness to the classically steely and mineral-driven wine.

This is a perfect pairing with oysters, shellfish, or any type of seafood, and a dream wine for anyone who loves Chardonnay in its natural glory: citrusy, lively, and elegant. In short, this wine delivers the pleasure, the provenance, and the pedigree of Burgundy’s best, yet does so at a fantastic price. Claim yours before we claim ours.