2019  

89-91 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous ---- The 2019 Chablis Village is matured in stainless steel tank for 10 months. It has a tightly wound bouquet with scents of orange blossom and a touch of tinned apricot; good delineation here. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, and lively from the start, offering plenty of citrus fruit joined by desiccated orange peel and a touch of spice on the finish. Excellent.

2020  Cotes d'Auxerre Blanc

Cotes d'Auxerre Blanc ---- "Lavallée's 2020 Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Blanc is very promising, offering up notes of citrus, Anjou pear, green apple and white flowers. Medium-bodied, elegantly fleshy and concentrated, it's fine-boned but intensely flavored. It's produced from deep but stony soils and, in total, amounts to a mere four barrels." - 88-90pts William Kelley, Wine Advocate ---- One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit - a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door.

2006  

2007  

2008  

1996  

2003  

2000  

2001  

2004  

2017  1er Cru Les Combettes

1er Cru Les Combettes

2002  

The 2002 Cristal is now entering its first plateau of maturity, which makes it a terrific Champagne for drinking now. Hints of apricot, brioche, lemon confit, honey, hazelnut, baked apple tart and spice give the 2002 striking layers of nuance. Rich and generous, the 2002 show plenty of the natural opulence of the year and yet retains terrific freshness as well. As always, Cristal is a blend of Pinot from Ay, Verzenay, Verzy and Beaumont sur Vesle, and Chardonnay from Mesnil, Cramant and Oger. Dosage is 9 grams per liter. - 97pts Vinous