2024 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin - Chablis Valmur (750ml) [PRE ARRIVAL]

Valmur is one of the two grand crus, alongside Les Clos, most often cited as the pinnacle of the appellation, and Benoît Droin treats it accordingly, applying the same rigorous, low-intervention farming across his fourteen-generation family estate while letting this particular climat's power speak for itself. Where some of his other grand cru cuvées lean toward richness or generosity, Droin's Valmur is consistently built around structure and restraint, a style the domaine considers the truest expression of great Chablis.

The vineyard enjoys full southern exposure on a steep, cool hillside, with deep, rocky Kimmeridgian marl that grows browner and more clay-rich toward the base of the slope and paler and chalkier near the top. Droin farms about one hectare here, among the youngest vines in his grand cru holdings, and ferments the wine with a meaningful portion of new oak, roughly a third of the blend, giving the wine enough backbone to match its natural intensity and long aging potential.

The nose combines yellow and white orchard fruit, citrus zest, and a floral note of hawthorn, layered over hints of fresh bread and cool stone. The palate is full-bodied and incisive, dense and saline, with a firm mineral core that carries into a long, structured finish built to soften gracefully over many years.