If I said you could acquire a top-vintage, high-scoring, cellar-worthy Grand Cru Burgundy for $100-$150, the only correct response would be to buy it, and buy it quickly. But what if it was well under $100—does a wine like that even exist? With Garnier & Fils, the answer is a resounding yes, consistently. Over the past few vintages, their luxurious “Vaudesir” has throttled our perception of Grand Cru value and left us slack-jawed as they’ve stormed ahead to bump elbows with the super-elite.
And while those so-called “super-elite” can evoke the most visceral emotions, they are expensive to an ungodly extent and one must keep their nose to the grindstone if they want an allocation. This is why the savviest of buyers look to the northern reaches of Burgundy, where Chablis’ cluster of Grand Crus offer unrivaled Chardonnay value, power, and texture. These terroir-infused gems are worthy of any collector’s home, as evidenced by the speed at which 2017s have been snapped up over the past 18 months. So why is Garnier’s “Vaudesir” still available? Because they practice extreme patience in the cellar: During the initial mad dash for Chablis’ 2017 Grand Crus, today’s rich, mineral-sculpted white was still quietly maturing at the domaine. After 22 months of barrel aging, plus a few more in bottle, a tiny allocation of this Grand Cru was finally released to us. We firmly believe Garnier’s wines are among the best in Chablis—and Burgundy as a whole—and today’s micro-batch Grand Cru proves it. Whether enjoying now, in five years, or 20, it’ll blow you away.
Although the brothers who run Garnier & Fils are ascendant stars in Chablis, the prices for their wines have yet to catch up to their superior quality and pedigree. This is how it goes in historic wine regions like this: It takes time to build a reputation, and Xavier and Jérome Garnier (the ‘fils’ in Garnier & Fils) only took over the family domaine in 1996. They represent a new generation in Chablis focused on sustainable/organic vineyard management and wines that exhibit more depth of fruit expression at every rung of the quality ladder; at the Grand Cru level, there’s a richness and power in today’s wine that is simply incredible.
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Amidst a steep, natural amphitheater in the center of Chablis’ seven Grand Crus rests the Grand Cru of Vaudésir. The iconic vineyard produces some of the most long-lived wines in Burgundy and is a steal when compared to Grand Cru whites of Côte de Beaune. The Garnier brothers only farm .3 hectares in Vaudesir and yields are kept exceedingly low. Through traditional winemaking, their sustainably farmed 45-year-old vines are transformed into a pure, uber-concentrated reflection of this storied vineyard site.
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Following a manual harvest, Xavier fermented (both alcoholic and malolactic) his “Vaudesir” Chardonnay with indigenous yeasts which took a number of months. Nothing is rushed here. The second step of this traditional, non-interventionist cellar work was nearly two years of aging on raw lees in 600-liter demi-muids. The wine was bottled without filtration in order to provide a pure, unadulterated snapshot of this celebrated Grand Cru vineyard.
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Although it has yet to be officially released, Garnier’s importer told us today’s Grand Cru “Vaudesir” had just received an extremely high mark from a renowned publication. And while we don’t bother promoting scores, and would rather not assign a masterfully complex wine to a simple number, that doesn't mean we always disagree with them! Garnier’s 2017 release is an astounding Chardonnay feat, with intense aromatic complexity, disarmingly rich textures, and an indelible display of minerality that work simultaneously to deliver a staggering expression of terroir. It reveals a brilliant yellow-gold in the glass and churns out powerful, high-toned aromas. You can expect ripe yellow apple, yellow peach skin, juicy apricot, pineapple slices, candied lemon peel, lees, Normandy butter, honeysuckle, crushed fossils, oyster shell, white rock, citrus zest, white flowers, and soft baking spices. It’s such a powerfully textured Chardonnay: opulent, creamy, taut—exactly what a Grand Cru white Burgundy should be. One sip stretches for miles and lasts for minutes, which speaks well to its aging ability; we think this will evolve in a positive direction for the next 15+ years! That said, you simply must open one now. After a minimum 30-minute decant, serve in your largest Burgundy stems around 55 degrees and sit back in awe while this Chardonnay takes you on a hedonistic, multifaceted sensory experience. Cheers!
