2023 Alice & Olivier DeMoor Chablis 1er Cru "Mont de Milieu", Burgundy, France

ABOUT THE WINE

Produced from 100% Chardonnay, the 2023 “Mont de Milieu” comes from a 0.82-hectare parcel within one of Chablis’s highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards. Located on a south-facing slope near the historic boundary between Burgundy and Champagne, the site benefits from excellent sunlight exposure, while its limestone-rich soils and marl contribute structure, freshness, and pronounced minerality. The vines are organically farmed and harvested by hand, with some of the older plantings dating to the 1930s. In the cellar, the grapes are gently pressed and fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, followed by malolactic fermentation. The wine spends its first year aging on the lees in used oak barrels and amphorae before a further year in large oak foudres. Bottled without filtration and with minimal sulfur, it preserves the purity of the fruit while developing texture, depth, and complexity.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Alice and Olivier De Moor are highly regarded independent vignerons based in Courgis, in the heart of the Chablis region of northern Burgundy. Since establishing their domaine in the late 1980s, they have built a reputation for producing distinctive, terroir-driven wines through organic viticulture and minimal-intervention winemaking. Their vineyards have been farmed organically since 2005, with careful attention to soil health, biodiversity, and harvesting grapes at full maturity. In the cellar, they favor indigenous-yeast fermentation, gentle extraction, extended aging on the lees, and restrained use of sulfur, allowing the natural character of each vineyard to emerge. Their holdings include several notable Chablis sites, including Mont de Milieu and Vau de Vey, which they acquired in 2017. Their wines are celebrated for combining the classic tension and minerality of Chablis with additional depth, texture, and complexity, making them particularly compelling expressions of contemporary Burgundy.