Grape Wine Journey

Domaine Laroche @ Chablis

Chablis is a very picturesque town with a small river running in the midst of the vineyards.  It is always a good summer wine with its crisp acidity and mineral aroma.  If you have read the famous Japanese manga, God’s Drop, this is the wine to pair with fresh oysters.  And I found out why after visiting Chablis!

Doamine Laroche’s tasting room was off a quiet street in the heart of Chablis.  We tasted four wines from the domaine, Saint Martin, Fourchaume 1er Cru, Les Vaudevey 1er Cru and then the grand crus, les Blanchot.

There are only 7 grand crus in Chablis, they are all clustered together on the hillside east of the river, or the right bank.  Domaine Laroche only owns 5 ha of the 12 ha of this grand cru.

I never thought Chablis as a complex wine, but after tasting the GC les Blanchot, it is indeed in a different class.  The wine was very aromatic, with a strong bouquet of white flowers.  The crisp acidity was still there, but it was so well balanced with white flowers, green apple, peach, and vanilla.  There was a sense of sweetness lingering in the mouth after finishing the wine.

limestone

While we were enjoying every drop of the grand cru, we noticed a big piece of rock sitting on the bar.  This was a piece of the famous limestone soil from the fields – there were oyster fossils all over the rock.  We laughed and said now we know why Chablis is good with fresh oyster!