Like most Climats, Le Chevalier was named after its location on the hillside, the highest. In medieval society, le chevalier (knight) was highly ranked in the hierarchy. This title went to the eldest son of a nobleman admitted to the order of Chivalry, a military institution whose members were religiously consecrated. Chevalier-Montrachet is often considered one of the absolute references of chardonnay in the world, and the finest of the three major Grand Crus of this magical hill (Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet).

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.

Organic since 1995 and biodynamic since 2005. All our wines are certified by Ecocert.

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.

Due to the very low yields in the Puligny and Chassagne area in 2021, the 2021 Chevalier comprises of a single 600-liter Stockinger barrel. The bouquet is focused with crushed stones infusing the citrus fruit, quince, honeysuckle and lily flowers. The palate is medium-bodied, dominated by fine beads of acidity stretching in an extraordinarily long and precise finish.