2022 Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles

Kimmeridgian. Moderately deep, brown clay soil with small pebbles that improve drainage. South-west exposure with good air circulation and temperatures moderated by the river Serein. Gentle slope. Years planted: 1950 / 1980

​This rare legend is the smallest Grand Cru in Chablis. Our parcel is located on the appellation’s upper slope. Ageing: 10 years or more.

No added yeasts, long fermentation using indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Matured for 18 to 20 months only in stainless steel tanks with as little intervention as possible. Moderate cold stabilisation. Fined with bentonite if necessary. Lightly filtered once just before bottling.

Serve at between 12 and 14°C. Swirl the glass before tasting to allow the wine to breathe. After a patient wait, the wines of Grenouilles provide a wonderful combination of power and finesse, yet they are always full of surprises. Spring notes of wildflowers, white-fleshed fruit and kiwi. A perfect harmony between aromatic complexity and minerality. – Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel, Louis Michel

The 2022 Chablis Grenouilles Grand Cru comes from a single 0.58-hectare parcel of vines at the top of the climat. The backward, quite austere bouquet lacks the amplitude of the best Premier Crus. Shut down at the moment. The palate is well-balanced and more open, with gentle tropical-tinged fruit (quince and tangerine). It is quite harmonious but missing the intellect of the Vaudesir at the moment. 91-93 points. Neil Martin, Vinous

A ripe yet cooler nose is comprised by notes of green apple, citrus peel and iodine. The sleek, delicious and impressively constituted full-bodied flavors possess good richness and a very generous mouthfeel while concluding in a compact, youthfully austere and equally persistent finish. Here too at least some patience is strongly counseled. 92-94 points. Allen Meadow, Burghound

This Grenouilles was really singing with its elegant notes of crushed chalk, anise, fleshy pears and cobbler crumble. Mid-weight, seamlessly structured and pleasantly persistent, this is nuanced and age-worthy. This comes from vines that are approximately 65 years old and sit in the upper portion of Grenouilles. 94 points. Tim Atkin MW, Burgundy Report

A deep, quite vertical nose – a rare 2022 with some lime complexity. Really mineral, but fluid despite the extract here – intense, lots of citrus complexity, still with that accent of lime. Slowly fading – I love it – and I’d possibly keep it longer than either of the GCs that bookend it! Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report