Grand Cru Chablis 2021: top-scoring wines
After tasting more than 300 Chablis 2021 wines, Andy Howard MW selects the top-scoring Grand Cru wines with full tasting notes and scores.
Chablis 2021: full vintage report and top-scoring wines
Score tables
Chablis 2021 score table – notes for all wines scoring 92 points and above
Grand Cru Chablis 2021 score table
Premier Cru Chablis 2021 score table
ALSO
Individual appellation analysis and their top-scoring wines:
Grand Cru Chablis | AOP Chablis | Petit Chablis
Grand Cru Chablis
Size: 102 hectares
At the top of the Chablis quality pyramid lies Chablis Grand Cru – not 7 different appellations but different expressions of the one Grand Cru – Bougros, Preuses, Valmur, Grenouilles, Vaudesir, Blanchot and Les Clos. La Moutonne is an unofficial eighth climat which was overlooked when the appellation laws were set. Many producers use a higher proportion of oak for the Grand Cru (but hardly ever any new wood) given the wines concentration and ability to age. Grand Cru Chablis can be broached whilst young but most wines will benefit from 5-10 years careful cellaring and will repay this with stone-fruit and zesty citrus notes, together with a complex, layered texture on the palate, vibrant acidity, and mouth-watering notes of crushed rocks and salinity on the finish.
2021 vintage
In 2021, acidity was marked but this will gradually soften with bottle age. Les Clos and Preuses seem to have performed very strongly this year.
Although the Grand Cru vineyard was threatened by the devastating frosts in early April, this is where the most comprehensive protection systems are to be found in Chablis. Olivier Bailly (Domaine Billaud-Simon) spent four nights in the vineyard lighting candles (bougies), trying to prevent frost damage.
Some producers were more successful than others and the siting/exposition of vines within the differing lieux-dit, meant frost damage varied between individual estates and vineyards.
As with Premier Cru, Chablis Grand Cru still offers remarkable value for money when compared to the Cote d’Or.
The additional concentration, together with a little more oak maturation in the majority of cases, has worked very well in 2021 to give vibrant, fresh wines which will develop very well in bottle and drink beautifully for up to a decade.
At the very top of the tree, Les Clos Grand Cru from Raveneau, Vincent Dauvissat, Droin and Louis Michel are remarkable wines in the context of this very challenging vintage.
These are thoroughbred wines to lay down and enjoy over many years.
Top-scoring Grand Cru Chablis 2021
Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
TOP QUALITY PRODUCER A very rich, regal, memorable grand cru displaying a glorious combination of richness, acidity, flavours of ripe peach, a touch of honey,...
2021
Domaine François RaveneauChablis
Domaine Louis Michel, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Clean, fresh, driven and with great purity, this balances soft, ripe peach fruit, a dash of lemon/lime zest and a saline character...
2021
Domaine Louis MichelChablis
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
WINE OF THE VINTAGE & TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Understated in comparison to its much more dynamic, weighty Les Clos, Dauvissat's Preuses is a very fine...
2021
Domaine Vincent DauvissatChablis
Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Weighty, profound and rich, this is a stunning Les Clos which has an extra level of depth and richness that would please...
2021
Jean-Paul & Benoît DroinChablis
Julien Brocard, 7 Lieux, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Brocard's 7 Lieux Grand Cru Preuses is a magnificent wine in the making. Although there is plenty of ripeness on display this...
2021
Julien BrocardChablis
Domaine Louis Moreau, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Quite a different, cool, fresh character on the nose. Louis Moreau always aim to pick early to preserve freshness. Lemon-lime citrus characters...
2021
Domaine Louis MoreauChablis
Domaine Roy, Chablis, Bougros Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
UNDER THE RADAR A very elegant Bougros which matches the ripeness of this full sun site with great acidity and purity of flavour. There is...
2021
Domaine RoyChablis
Domaine William Fèvre, Chablis, Bougros Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
<p>TOP QUALITY PRODUCER The Cote de Bouguerots is a 2.1ha part of the Bougros climat, with some distinctive characteristics. On very steep slopes (up to...
2021
Domaine William FèvreChablis
Domaine William Fèvre, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
One of the domaine's standout wines, this immediately strikes you with its precision and clarity. Fevre's vines are from two different sites, with varying expositions...
2021
Domaine William FèvreChablis
Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis, Valmur Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
0.75ha in area, with average age of 40 years, Raveneau's Valmur is already highly appealing with a luscious, ripe and concentrated stone fruit character. Yet...
2021
Domaine François RaveneauChablis
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Ghislain Dauvissat insisted we tasted Clos before Preuses. Dauvissat's Les Clos shows all the power and weight which one would expect of this famous climat....
2021
Domaine Vincent DauvissatChablis
Domaine Louis Michel, Chablis, Grenouilles Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
The vines for Louis Michel's Grenouilles are from a rocky, sunnier site higher up on the slope. The vines here always benefit from a gentle...
2021
Domaine Louis MichelChablis
Dampt Freres, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
A weighty Les Clos which shows a fine balance between the intensity of minerality and acidity, melding with some juicy, confit-citrus fruit on the palate....
2021
Dampt FreresChablis
Domaine Céline & Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
UNDER THE RADAR Appetising, refreshing grand cru which has the necessary layers of flavour and complexity. Attractive orange hints on the palate with sweetness of...
2021
Domaine Céline & Frédéric GueguenChablis
Domaine Long-Depaquit, Chablis, Les Clos Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Cool, understated with plenty of concentration and structure waiting to flesh out over the next three to five years. A restrained Les Clos with plenty...
2021
Domaine Long-DepaquitChablis
Simonnet-Febvre, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Brooding nose with attractive hints of zesty grapefruit. Plenty of depth on the palate with vibrant acidity and a distinct fruit sweetness which is certainly...
2021
Simonnet-FebvreChablis
Domaine Billaud-Simon, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Always a favourite in the Billaud-Simon line up, Preuses comes from a plot totalling 0.41ha, with the vines planted in 1949. A very elegant and...
2021
Domaine Billaud-SimonChablis
Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, Chablis, Grenouilles Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
A 0.5ha site on the higher levels of Grenouilles, with average vine age of 60 years. The soils here are richer than those controlled by...
2021
Jean-Paul & Benoît DroinChablis
Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis, Blanchot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Some of the oldest vines in the domaine (85 years), Raveneau have 0.64ha in this east-facing grand cru. Quite a delicate Blanchot in 2021 -...
2021
Domaine François RaveneauChablis
Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, Chablis, Valmur Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Brocard used one-year old used barrels here, adding richness and complexity to this Valmur. The wood needs another 18-24 months to fully integrate. Sweet, ripe,...
2021
Domaine Jean-Marc BrocardChablis
Domaine Nathalie & Gilles Fèvre, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
UNDER THE RADAR Warming, sunny and ripe fruit on the nose with a touch of marmalade/orange confit on the palate. Good weight, layers of flavour,...
2021
Domaine Nathalie & Gilles FèvreChablis
La Chablisienne, Chateau Grenouilles, Chablis, Grenouilles Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Fine Grenouilles from the La Chablisienne Co-op. Very precise and youthful, plenty of vibrant acidity here and medium weight on the palate. Should be a...
2021
La ChablisienneChablis
Louis Jadot, Chablis, Les Preuses Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Touch of smoky oak on the nose. Crisp, fleshy and vibrant palate with the necessary acidity to keep the palate fresh. Can be broached quite...
2021
Louis JadotChablis
Louis Jadot, Chablis, Blanchot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Crisp acidity supports this fine Blanchot. There is plenty of character on display here from this cooler, east-facing site. Lots of spice on the palate,...
2021
Louis JadotChablis
Domaine Billaud-Simon, Chablis, Blanchot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Billaud-Simon's Blanchot is a fascinating example of this east-facing grand cru. A sunny site, there is certainly weight warmth on the palate, yet the soils,...
2021
Domaine Billaud-SimonChablis
Domaine Billaud-Simon, Chablis, Vaudésir Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
Nice example of Vaudésir which is rounded and showing lots of complexity already. White flowers on the nose, some stone-fruit characters on the palate combining...
2021
Domaine Billaud-SimonChablis
Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, Chablis, Valmur Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
From a site of just over 1ha, Valmur is a colder site giving, as Dron says, a more masculine. Cool, closed on the nose, this...
2021
Jean-Paul & Benoît DroinChablis
Domaine William Fèvre, Chablis, Vaudésir Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2021
From a plot of 1.2 hectares, with south-facing exposition. Quite a delicate, elegant grand cru yet there is good volume on the palate, with lingering...
2021
Domaine William FèvreChablis
