William Fèvre : Chablis Grand cru "Vaudésir" Domaine 2024

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for the Chablis 2024 William Fèvre

Tasting

Colour
This white wine from France reveals a pale and luminous colour.

Nose
The bouquet reveals fresh, airy aromas marked by notes of white flowers. Subtle marine touches evoking sea breeze, seaweed and shellfish highlight its origin with great clarity.

Palate
The palate offers flavours that are refined, elegant and full of power. With a seductive texture and excellent precision, it lingers at length before finishing clean, dry and balanced, carried by a particularly pronounced minerality.

Food and Wine Pairing

Thanks to its lovely acidity and mineral profile, this wine pairs beautifully with seafood-based dishes such as delicate fish, raw or lightly cooked shellfish, and oysters. It also goes very well with dishes enhanced with citrus or vinaigrettes, while dishes that are overly rich or buttery are best avoided.

Service and Storage

To fully appreciate this Chablis 2024, it is recommended to serve it at a temperature between 9 and 10°C. With its pronounced acidity and low pH, this wine calls for a little patience and will benefit from bottle ageing to harmonise its aromatic profile.

Other Characteristics

This wine has a low pH, stabilised between 3.3 and 3.35 after malolactic fermentation, along with pronounced acidity. Due to the vintage conditions, a slight chaptalisation of 0.5 to 1.5% was necessary to adjust the alcohol level.

The Pure and Mineral Expression of a White Chablis Wine

The Estate

Formally established in 1959 by William Fèvre with just seven hectares, Domaine William Fèvre is an essential name in Burgundy. Located in Chablis, the estate now spans approximately 78 hectares. A pioneer in environmental stewardship, the domaine began adopting organic practices as early as 1999. Since January 2024, Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite have been the current owners, led by Saskia de Rothschild. The historic technical team, headed by Didier Séguier, continues to showcase these terroirs with a minimal-intervention approach.

The Vineyard

The domaine's Chablis vineyard spans both banks of the Serein, spread across nearly 90 plots. The vines thrive on steep, rocky slopes made up of Kimmeridgian soils, a geological formation combining limestone and marl. This unique terroir gives the wines their characteristic mineral and saline signature. The vineyard is farmed according to organic and biodynamic principles, promoting biodiversity and soil health.

The Vintage

2024 was a particularly challenging year in terms of weather. Spring was marked by excessive rainfall, flooding, and episodes of frost. On 1 May, a violent hailstorm struck the region hard. These mild, humid conditions led to unprecedented mildew pressure. Flowering also suffered, causing coulure and millerandage. Despite a drier August, yields were drastically reduced.

Winemaking and Aging

The 2024 Chablis grapes are harvested by hand into small crates, followed by meticulous sorting of the berries. The winemaking philosophy is minimalist, aiming to preserve freshness and terroir expression. Ageing takes place in oak barrels averaging six years old, thereby avoiding the use of new wood. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation and lees ageing, keeping technical intervention to a strict minimum.