Alain Geoffroy, Chablis
Alain Geoffroy, Chablis
History
A sizable family domain initially established in 1850 by Honoré Geoffroy, with most of their vineyards in the north of the region clustered around the villages of Beine and La Chapelle Vaupelteigne. Their holdings had once been humble in size, but under the thoughtful stewardship of Alain Geoffroy the Domaine was able to grow significantly, with their plots now totalling about 50 hectares of productive vineyards, including parcels in Beauroy, Vau Ligneau, and Les Clos itself. Although success enabled expansion, Domaine Geoffroy remains committed to maintaining its traditional family character, gathering, in their own words, a ‘young and dynamic team’ around them to support increased volumes whilst sustaining their quality.
What we say:
Alain Geoffroy’s estate produces this old vine premier cru from the Beauroy vineyard, accepted as one of the region’s best. This is a very classic style, with aromas of white flowers, tinged with honey and lemon and a rich, rounded palate with those benchmark flinty notes.
Winemaking
Unsurprisingly, the success of the domain has been down to its wines, which are vibrant, fresh and fruit driven, with the kind of clean, saline minerality that immediately marks out the Kimmeridgian terroir of Chablis. Vinification practices are oriented towards the transparent expression of fruit and terroir character, with most fermentation in large stainless-steel tanks. However, wines made from their various parcels of ‘vieilles vignes’ are fermented separately in oak barrels and bottled separately (their holding of Les Clos likewise). All wines are aged on fine lees, and despite their impressive production, every wine remains estate bottled.
Style
Across the board, the wines of Alain Geoffroy offer excellent value and enjoyable drinkability in youth, providing consumers and drinkers with the typicity and quality of this sought-after region at keenly competitive prices. Their more prestigious cuvées provide additional concentration, and, with oak vinification, additional layers of complexity and ageability. The jewel in the crown of their holdings is a parcel of Les Clos, the Grand Cru lieu-dit almost universally venerated as the finest in all of Chablis. This is a classic expression of Les Clos, seamlessly combining power, richness, and balanced acidity, its textured palate of ripe stone fruits and citrus underlain by a tingling seam of crushed oyster shell salinity.
Their Wines