Château Grenouilles, Chablis Grand Cru

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Tasting a Château Grenouilles wine that has attained a certain maturity gives you an inkling of the deep-rooted genius of Chablis's great terroirs. It amounts to a unique experience of "emotion with a mineral touch". During the year following the harvest, Grenouilles is definitely the most expressive wine in our cellars. On the nose, the aromas are already clearly defined. Its taste is clean and substantial, with a richness of flavours deriving from perfectly ripened berries. The mineral edge is there, but comes through as the merest filigree. The finish is sketchy as yet, but the work of art is taking shape. Two or three years after harvesting, the wine reaches an apogee of fruitiness: everything has become more complex and more subtle, the flavours are less tropical, the zest of the citrus is rounder and the mineral edge comes through. In the mouth, the knit of the wine is more apparent... Five years after harvesting, the fruit flavours have given way a little as a more complex bouquet comes to the fore. Much fleshier on the palate now, the wine displays a subtle paradox between a lovely mouthfeel and real potential for development. Eight, ten, fifteen years after harvesting, the nose becomes forthright and pure, intense and complex, with a panoply of fresh fruit, light flora scents, touches of gentle spice, citronella, verbena, honey, wax... and of course that decidedly mineral edge. In the mouth, the wine is truly harmonious, very well-balanced, remarkable for its pure elegance and finesse, with an unbelievably long mineral finish. The pallet of aromas is extremely wide, changing with the weather and the seasons. Ultimately comes the full blooming of the wine -in the case of really great vintages, years and years after the harvesting: this is the quintissentially pure Chablis, its balance perfect, a great joy, an unsurpassable experience to relive...

Château Grenouilles, through the ages

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Château Grenouilles, a mythical wine

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Situated right in the heart of the Grand Crus, at the foot of the hillside known as “Grenouilles”, the Domaine de Château Grenouilles is unique and exceptional in Chablis. This plot of 7.20 ha (17.8 acres) has only one occupant; Grenouilles vines. With a magnificent south-west aspect, facing the village of Chablis, this vineyard produces the rarest of the Grand Crus. The result of two small plots of old vines, Château Grenouilles unites olfactory precision; purity of taste, harmony between strength and finesse in addition to a very long finish on the palate. Offering great keeping potential, it is the incarnation of a great Chablis wine and ambassador of the terroir.
The second wine of the Château, "Le Fief de Grenouilles" perfectly embodies the style of Grenouilles soil. Produced from vines aged more than thirty-five years old, it expresses the generosity, the harmony between the fullness and the elegance combined with the true mineral style of a Chablis Grand Cru.

 

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The Grand Crus of Chablis


The Grand Crus of Chablis are known to wine lovers worldwide as the “kings” of the appellation. Situated close to the village of Chablis and only on the right bank of the river Serein, they constitute an ensemble of 100 hectares (247 acres) mostly facing south-west. Their geographical limits are defined by the hillsides. Chablis Grand Cru wines have very powerful personalities that time can only amplify. They need at least five to eight years ageing in order for their character to begin to be unveiled as the cellaring potential is remarkable. The grapes from these seven Grand Cru plots are harvested and vinified separately by La Chablisienne in order to respect the different characteristics:


• Bougros: lively and mineral,
• Les Preuses: length and breeding,
• Vaudésir: fleshy and powerful,
• Les Clos: dry and mineral
• Blanchot: supple and aromatic,
• Grenouilles: elegant and fruity.

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