Lilian Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru – Mont de Milieu 2015

Lilian Duplessis is one of Burgundy’s most terroir-attentive winemakers, one who puts personality aside to tell the true story of his vines. The winemaker who embraces a life of letting the soil speak without personal performance is like that old friend we all have who facilitates brilliant social gatherings, yet seems to melt into the background. Organic farming and natural winemaking are not the first things to come to mind when thinking of Chablis. Industrial farming is commonplace, with chemical pesticides and mechanical harvesting in the vines and lab yeasts and other winemaking tricks in the cellar. There are, however, a few producers working against the norm, farming with respect for the earth and employing traditional methods in the cellar. Lilian Duplessis not only farms organically (certified as of the 2013 vintage), he continuously succeeds in making some of the most profound, energetic, and simply delicious wines that Chablis can offer.

Lilian is the second generation of vignerons to farm 9 hectares of old vines planted by his father, Gérard, and produces wines from the Village level as well as some of the most prestigious Premier and Grand Cru vineyard sites. His philosophy for working in harmony with the earth translates to how he works in the cellar: native yeast fermentations, long lees aging in stainless steel tank followed by a six-to-eighteen month (depending on the vintage) elévage in neutral oak barrels before being bottled with a minimal addition of sulfur.

These are powerful wines that are built for aging, but the 2015 vintage is notably ripe and will certainly please if opened now! 

The Mont de Milieu, only its second vintage, is performing beautifully. The wine has an attractive bouquet with white flower infusing the citrus fruit, the aromas nicely defined. The palate is well balanced with a spicy attack on the entry, and it is quite feisty with a lively finish that leaves a dab of ginger. I look forward tasting more from this vineyard in the future.