Undoubtedly the most prestigious of the Premiers Crus of Chablis, Fourchaume holds a special place in the hearts of lovers of the appellation. Elegant, fine and delicious, it expresses notes of white flowers and summer fruit with beautiful minerality. Open and pleasant from its youth, it is also good to wait 6 to 7 years for more complexity. Fourchaume is located on the right bank of the Serein river and covers nearly 130 hectares, a substantial surface area. This is explained by the fact that its neighboring Climats can also claim the name Fourchaume. The plot is oriented West/South-West with deep and draining, not very stony, soils mainly composed of brown clay.

After a light settling, the musts are put into 228 and 600-liter-barrels to complete the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. We work with 5 to 20% new barrels with wood coming mostly from Allier, light toasting. The wines are racked about a year later before being transfered to stainless steel vats for the second phase of their aging in order to retain freshness and minerality.

Maison de Montille only selects grapes that meet its requirements: organic or sustainable farming, controlled yields, carefully pruned and plowed vines.

Vintage 2021 had everyone talking very early in the growing season due to the terrible spring frost that hit the region between April 6 and 8, 2021. Temperatures dropped to -8°C (17°F), irremediably damaging harvest volume. The vines timidly resumed their development, the relatively cold and wet days of July and beginning of August keeping them a bit behind schedule throughout the summer. With twice as many treatments to push off mildew outbreaks, the growing season of 2021 was quite the challenge for our team but everyone’s efforts paid off! Inevitably, volumes were down by 60% on average with major disparities. Chardonnay vines were more affected by the frost because they were ahead in their vegetative cycle compared to pinot noir. Yet, the musts surprised us all with exceptional crisp and stellar freshness. As a result, 2021 unveils a classic and well-balanced profile. Far from the solar character of the previous three vintages, it reveals airy textures and lovely drinkability, combining pleasure and purity.

Light bouquet of lemon verbena and beeswax. The mouth is fresh and taut with notes of grapefruit and lemon zest.