Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Bougros Grand Cru 2020

Grand Cru Chablis is an experience like no other, and in the hands of Albert Bichot...it truly can’t be missed! This is from Chablis’ westernmost Grand Cru, Bougros, where clay-heavy limestone soils make for particularly expressive Chablis. This 94 point beauty is just such a wine, and we have it a full $55 less than the next best price in the USA!

The Bichot family has roots in Burgundy since the 14th century. And yet, it is really over the past 40 years that the Bichot family has become recognized for producing top-notch Burgundy wines from the very best vineyard sites. Much of that change coincides with the ascent of Albert Bichot within the company. He led the charge on enhancing the fruit – whether by applying better practices to the vineyards they already had a relationship with or by pursuing new holdings in better locations – and then revamping the production side of things. With him in charge since the mid-90s, the Domaine has grown its reputation favorably.

Bougros enjoys a southwestern exposure and a higher density of plantings relative to Chablis’ other Grand Crus. The higher proportion of clay here means exceptional water retention, but deeper deposits mean intense competition among the vines to seek deeper into the earth (over 30 feet deep here)! The battle keeps yields in check, and concentration high...all-in-all, a rather perfect set of circumstances for producing world-class Grand Cru Chablis!

This golden wine is reared exclusively in oak barrels, but none of which are new. The flavors are rich and tropical, with exotic flavors of pineapple, lychee, passionfruit, and chamomile tea. There’s a grassy note that breaks through the intense Chablisienne minerality – which focuses on wet slate and a granitic profile here – that gives the wine a freshness and tension that should allow for aging up to a decade or so. Toasty and sweet brioche softens the gentle tannin-like grip on the finish, with the overall effect being a long and silky chardonnay. We can never get as much Grand Cru Chablis as we would like, and any 94 point champion like this – from a rising star house, at a price that is the best in the country by far...well, move fast is my advice!

PAIRING IDEAS: Especially if you choose to drink this young, give this a shot with lean white meat...say, for instance, pork chops? Always get the double-cut thickness if you can, and that way you can get a nice char, without drying out the meat. I’m doing a maple glaze here, with some lemon-dressed broccoli rabe that I’ll char over some coals.