Chablis 2022-2023: Here Comes the Sun King

BY NEAL MARTIN | AUGUST 22, 2024

“Here comes the Sun King…” sang the Fab Four on side two of Abbey Road. I have no allusions to Louis XIV. However, that hymnal song kept playing in my head during the annus horribilis that is 2024, a year that has been soaked by rain, strafed by hail and beset by rampant mildew. That is because my recent trips to Mâconnais, Chablis and South Africa coincided with a rare spell of sunshine. Desperate winemakers in all three regions beseeched me to stay until approximately the end of harvest. Perhaps they planned to install me in their town square or plant me in a vineyard?

To say ‘Chablis has had a rough old time’ is an understatement. Visiting in June 2024, many vignerons were already at their wits’ end after weeks of tragi-comical inclement weather. As I toured wineries to taste 2022 and 2023s, many growers were out saving their 2024s. It was imperative to use every minute of dryness to spray and protect vines. Ironically, the warm conditions formed a perfect environment to ignite fungal spores accumulated over previous weeks. At least you could drive your tractor into the vines. While surveying Les Clos one morning, I lost count of the number of people trundling up and down the slope as if driving in formation.

One silver lining is that Chablis’ cellars are full of barrels after healthy yields in the previous two vintages, and so, at least for now, there is enough Chablis to go around. Producers can plan ahead and potentially hold back allocations of 2023 to supplement anticipated smaller yields in 2024. So, what do the 2022 and 2023s offer in Chablis and also within satellite appellations such as St.-Bris and Irancy?

Looking over towards Chablis Les Clos from outside Benoît Droin’s winery on the outskirts of Chablis ville.

Growing Season

As I did with my Mâconnais report, I reproduce the growing season for the 2022 vintage from last year’s article for ease of reference…

February saw temperatures averaging 6.1°C, around 40% warmer than usual, not quite as much as the Mâconnais in the south, though warmer than the Côte d’Or. April was slightly cooler at 10.7°C, and, indeed, there was minor frost damage at the top of the incline. Eleni and Edouard Vocoret were acutely affected, losing half their normal yield. Heat stormed back in May when temperatures averaged 17.1°C, around 20% hotter than normal. June and July were balmy, though it should be noted that August was not quite as hot as other regions in Burgundy: 21.9°C on average compared to 23.1°C in Beaune. Data shows that 2022 had the warmest average temperatures since the beginning of the 20th century, including 2020 and 2003. The number of days exceeding 25°C was greater than in 2020: 91 days compared to 74, though there were far fewer above 30°C compared to the Mâconnais. Naturally, it was dry throughout the year except for June, which saw 109mm of rain due to storms. Yet that figure plunges to 14mm and 21mm in July and August, boosted by brief showers on August 15 that Patrick Piuze says gave the vines a bit of a pick-me-up. July was extremely sunny with 359 insolation hours, around 50% more than usual. September was actually quite wet, although, by this time, much of the fruit had been harvested.

The impact on the vegetative cycle of the vines is unsurprising. Everything was around two weeks earlier than the 1994-2021 average from June onwards. Interestingly, data shows that sugar levels were lower than in 2015 and 2019, roughly the same as in 2020, with slightly lower maturity indices. Harvest began in some properties in the last week of August and others around September 3. Picking efficiently was paramount as sugar levels were rising rapidly, and the continuing warm temperatures meant that producers had to ensure their incoming fruit was kept cool, lest they risk spoilage. Another factor, pointed out by Olivier de Moor, is that the warmth ostensibly caramelized the humus content in the soils and reduced nitrogen content. This has a knock-on effect as it can inhibit alcoholic fermentation. So, although I often heard the word “easy” spoken by winemakers when describing the 2022 season, it was not straightforward.

Fabien Moreau is not having the best of luck in 2024, yet was unbowed when I visited him in Chablis to taste his 2022s and 2023s.

With regards to the 2023 vintage, like elsewhere, it commenced with mild conditions, not least in January when temperatures averaged 5°C before dropping the following month. February was particularly dry, with just 9mm of rain. Despite the comparatively warm winter, budding was around normal. After a slightly warmer March that welcomed 74mm of rain to replenish the aquifer, April witnessed what is fast becoming an annual event, when temperatures fell to 9.4°C on average and caused localized frost damage in exposed areas on April 4 and 5. At least it saw another 58mm of rain to top up underground moisture reserves, although it made vineyard work more difficult. Even at this early stage, vineyard managers began to notice heterogeneity between parcels, a characteristic of the vintage that lasted until the end of the season.

May was sunny with average rainfall, though this clemency was a false dawn. June was wetter with 76mm of rain, albeit far less than in Mâcon, which saw nearly twice that amount. Thankfully, it was sunny, with quite an astonishing 314 sunlight hours recorded. Therefore, flowering was smooth and even; the first flowers were spotted on June 1, and mi-floraison was recorded on June 9, only a couple of days earlier than normal. The latter half of June saw intermittent showers, meaning powdery and downy mildew was a constant threat. Vigilance was key. “We had a lot of mildew pressure, more than I've ever seen before,” Jean-Marc Brocard told me. “It came quite late, from mid-June, and very quickly infected the bunches.” Precipitation continued from June to August with 76mm and 72mm, and then a soggy 95mm was recorded during those three months. This engorged the berries, Didier Séguier telling me they could weigh 200 grams instead of an average of 58 grams in 2019. But, Séguier went on to suggest that the rain stopped at just the right moment and remarked that the crop would have been decimated by botrytis had rain continued just a couple more days. As is often said – Chablis is winemaking on a knife-edge.

The first pickers started going out into the vines on September 7, others opting to wait a few days when they felt the fruit needed more ripeness. Some teams, such as those at Drouin, went out into the vines early in the morning to preserve freshness, which they knew would be more difficult to obtain otherwise. It should be noted that, unusually, some undertook a pre-emptive spray of copper after the harvest, and, given the travails of 2024, it would be unsurprising if they undertake the same measure again this coming autumn. Fabien Moreau explained that mildew has been a constant threat since the 2016 vintage, not least in Grand Crus, where hitherto it was rare. At the time of writing, Les Clos was being ravaged by mildew. In a cruel twist of fate, it was Moreau’s only vineyard that had not been hit by hail.

All lined up and ready to go. I cannot remember when I first tasted chez Raveneau, but it was definitely after phylloxera.

How The Tastings Were Done

I always pencil in June as my month to visit Chablis. I spent a few days visiting producers, the usual roster with one or two additions for the first time. Around half the wines were tasted at the offices of the BIVB and organized by status, commencing with Petit Chablis, then Premier Crus and finishing with Grand Crus. This is always an insightful exercise, though readers should note that this tasting is conducted blind. I have indicated these wines at the end of the tasting notes so readers know how they were assessed.

The Wines

The headline is that overall, I prefer Chablis 2022 over 2023, a view shared by several winemakers. My preference could be attributed to the high yields in 2023, thanks to even flowering and benevolent season. According to the BIVB, production was 9% higher than in 2022 and 29% above the five-year average, albeit slightly distorted by 2021’s pitiful yields. However, mitigating factors resulted in what could be described as a “normal” crop, such as mildew pressure that obliged green harvesting and sorting. One key factor concerning the 2023 wines is that they do not possess the acidity, tension or electric charge that underlies a great Chablis. Speaking to head winemaker Louis Gimmonet at Long-Dépaquit, he advised: “In 2023, we had huge rainy episodes, and so we had more potassium in the soil that the vines absorbed. This was the main issue.” Jean-Marc Brocard and others told me that pH levels will be comparatively higher in 2024. A second differentiating factor between the two vintages is, as Isabelle Raveneau and others pointed out, differences in rainfall during the year. Compare precipitation figures for July and August: 14mm and 21mm in 2022, then 72 and 95mm in 2023. Some claim that the August rain stopped not a moment too soon and averted disaster, though some spend more time tending their vines than others, and it is easy to lose control of mildew or suffer some dilution.

One of the most significant changes in Chablis is Edouard and Eleni Vocoret's now vastly expanded portfolio. Part of their business plan from the outset, their 2023s mark the first vintage with a full complement of wines.

Benoît Droin hit the nail on the head when he averred that the 2023 vintage is less “classic” than 2022. That does not infer that the wines are substandard and not worthy of investigation, so there is mostly just a small fall in my scores. But they don’t achieve the same heights as the previous vintage, and broaching the lower levels of the hierarchy, it does become inconsistent; at worst, banal wines are best avoided. Perhaps the challenge of 2023 was to fashion interesting, personality or terroir-driven Chablis? That was certainly possible. Barrels samples from the likes of Edouard and Eleni Vocoret, François Raveneau, Vincent Dauvissat, Benoît Droin, William Fèvre and Samuel Billaud are promising. They will be more approachable in style, and who knows, in 12 months, they may have meliorated in bottle.

But the more I taste the 2022s from Chablis, the more I like them. “A modern classic,” to borrow Isabelle Raveneau’s phrase, indicating what is the new norm. Instead of the steely, malic and ‘mean’ Chablis last seen in 2017 and intermittently in 2021, the 2022s are rounder in texture, flirt with tropical notes manifested by higher temperatures, not least in more south-facing climats, parts of Les Preuses, Bougros and Les Clos, Mont de Milieu and lower reaches of Les Vaillons for example. The crucial word is ‘flirt’. Those traits of wild peach or apricot are decorative. They don’t define the style of the wine that frequently maintains tension and nerve. What is Chablis without those but ‘Chardonnay ordinaire’ ? You could argue that stylistically, they shuffle closer towards what you might find in the Côte d’Or, sacrificing typicité to achieve balance in a season that could have easily resulted in flabby, one-dimensional wines.

Jean-Hugues Goisot at the end of a comprehensive tasting of his latest wines in St.-Bris.

Up in Irancy, I retasted several wines with co-winemaker Félix Richoux. Their extended barrel maturation means I report on different cuvées each year depending on their stage of evolution. They are far and away the leading producer. However, during my BIVB sampling of two dozen more Irancy wines, I found these to be the best I have encountered since I began this exercise a decade ago. Check out the wines from Maison de la Chapelle. Founded by Delphine and Grégory Viennois, ex-winemaker at Domaine Laroche, I particularly liked their “Version Libre” cuvée that, as its name suggests, is sulphur-free. On the same morning visiting Irancy, I drove to St.-Bris to taste with Jean-Hugues Goisot, who has parcels not only there but scattered across Irancy, Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre and Chablis itself. These are fabulous wines, certified biodynamic, that continue to represent outstanding value given the care that goes into each and every one. I see these wines on many restaurants’ lists. If you are not acquainted with them, give them a try.

Lastly, as I mentioned before, Chablis has not adopted organic or biodynamic practices to the same extent as the Côte d’Or due to the prevalence of co-operatives and the modus operandi of winemakers. That has gradually changed in recent years. Château de Béru, Domaine Goisot, E&E Vocoret, Alice & Olivier de Moor, Thomas Pico (not tasted on this trip) and Jean-Marc Brocard, to name a few off the top of my head, all practice biodynamics and, more important than ideology, consistently make impressive wines. Others, such as William Fèvre, apply them but will seek recourse to conventional treatments if necessary. It is important that Chablis nurtures such producers because, at the very least, they provide vineyard workers with a less toxic environment in which to work. But recent growing seasons, not least the current one, have pushed them to the limit and some have begun to question whether it is viable to continue in the long-term. A philosophy is without purpose when there is no wine. When Nature seems hellbent on making life as difficult as possible, then it must be tempting to relinquish ideals and certifications just to make it through the year.

Gaëlle Ribé is one of those winemakers dedicated to biodynamics. She now has a new winery in which to vinify her wines. Here, on the terrace outside the tasting room, she is indicating the location of their holdings.

Final Thoughts

Since I began visiting Chablis in the late 1990s, the region has dramatically improved the quality of wine. Without disrespecting either producer, both of whom continue to make marvelous wines, Chablis is more than Raveneau and (Vincent) Dauvissat. New blood, fledgling winemakers priced out of the Côte d’Or and seeking ‘dirt’ to demonstrate their skills push the region forward. Paradoxically, Chablis is imbued with timelessness. Walking its streets, save for a couple of tarted-up winery tasting rooms and outstanding restaurants, little has changed. But looks can be deceptive. Recent vintages have seen Mother Nature throwing all kinds of challenges at winemakers who cannot hide shortcomings via blending or by draconian deselection. This rawness and this unfettered articulation of the season make Chablis so fascinating. There remain many co-operatives, albeit less dominant nowadays, that will machine-harvest and produce low-cost Chablis for consumers who recognize the name more than most. Fortunately, the largest, La Chablisienne, can produce wines that serve as fine ambassadors for the region, and it is vital that they continue to do so. It will be interesting to see how winemakers react to the current conditions, for example, whether machine harvesting will return as pickers are so difficult to recruit. Most combine manual and machine, reserving the latter for less reputed vineyards, a trend beginning to emerge in the Côte d'Or.

Chablis’ winemakers are battle-hardened. They know the score. It is rarely an easy ride. You accept the challenge and knuckle down with dogged determination. Who knows, by the time this report is published, there might be a Second summer that will salvage the 2024 vintage. You never know. If so, then it must take place without this talisman. Hopefully, another Beatles song will be apt for the future, one that starts side two of Abbey Road…

Here comes the sun.

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