Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru Louis Carillon & Fils 2001

Lot presentation

Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru Louis Carillon & Fils 2001

The wine

Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet is one of the five great white grand crus of the Côte de Beaune, and is divided between the villages of Puligny and Chassagne. It produces a wine with a very attractive substance: rich, but always lively at the finish. It was Louis Carillon's practice to harvest early so as to preserve the vivacious character of his wines. It is a memorable wine.

Present in the region for nearly three centuries, Les Fèvre have branded the Chablis name thanks to William, who founded Domaine de la Maladière in the late 1950s. With the arrival of the new owners in 1998, the Henriot family (from Champagne), also the owners of Maison Bouchard Père et Fils, and William Fèvre initiated some major changes: manual harvesting, selective triage, élevage in parsimonious wood, (never new barrels), to preserve the Chablis terroir without excessive woodiness; this is one of Fèvre’s secrets! Today with a solid financial base, Maison William Fèvre races ahead as one of the best Chablis, while benefiting from very simple techniques which respect the terroirs. An interesting fact is that it is the very same man, Didier Séguier, who officiates both as head of culture and cellar master. For all wines, the principle of gravity prevails: the grapes follow a natural circuit, without pumping, from top to bottom. The wines are aged in oak barrels, on fine lees, for between 10 and 15 months, and are stirred according to the vintages. Didier Seguier, the winemaker, thus produces clear and well-defined, pure Chablis. The domaine comprises 48 hectares, over half of which are premier crus (12 hectares) and grand crus (15.2 hectares).