Chablis 45° 2023 Domaine Clément Lavallée

The Chablis 45° 2023 from Clément Lavallée ranks among this rising producer's most precious and distinctive cuvées, wines that are entering the ranks of Burgundy's finest with a momentum that impresses even the most seasoned observers of the region. More structured than the domaine's Les Ardilliers yet more elegant than its Chante Merle, 45° is the signature Chablis cuvée, sourced from a parcel whose name reveals everything about its character: a 45-degree slope, a vertiginous incline that demands manual labour alone and concentrates the grapes with an intensity and minerality that flat terrain simply cannot achieve.

Terroir and parcel

The 45° takes its name from the slope's angle, a 45-degree pitch on blue Kimmeridgian clay ideally exposed above the Kimmeridgian soils of Chablis in Courgis. These ancient seabeds, dating back some 150 million years and rich in marine fossils and clayey limestone, represent Chablis terroir in its purest form: they endow Chardonnay with its distinctive iodine minerality, acidity and freshness, immediately recognisable on the palate. With only centimetres of clay soil before bedrock, vine roots are forced to plunge directly into limestone for nourishment, a source of this cuvée's remarkable minerality and tension. The punishing 45-degree slope excludes all mechanical work: every vineyard task, from pruning to harvest, is completed by hand under demanding conditions that reflect Clément Lavallée's commitment. Winemaking is precise and unobtrusive, faithful to the domaine's philosophy: no added sulphur during fermentation and ageing, indigenous yeast fermentation, 18 months' ageing in 450-litre barrels, gravity-driven work, no filtration, sulphur added only before bottling at minimal dose.

Tasting profile

The robe is pale gold with green glints, limpid and crystalline. The nose is vibrant and immediately minerally precise: wet flint, green lemon, green apple and lime blossom emerge with the frankness and purity that define a great Kimmeridgian Chablis. Subtle notes of smoke and dried white flowers progressively enrich this bouquet with a complexity and depth remarkable for its level. On the palate, the wine is rich and textured, marked by sharp acidity and a distinctive chalky imprint. The material is more ample and muscled than the domaine's Ardilliers cuvées, driven by natural tension and stony minerality that traverse the palate with admirable persistence and precision. The finish is long, saline and crystalline, offering the purity and freshness that confirm this cuvée's cellaring potential over five to eight years at minimum.

The domaine

Clément Lavallée is the son of vignerons established in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in the Auxerrois since 1987. After studies in viticulture and oenology and eight years' training with Armand Heitz, Chapoutier and Château Margaux, he chose in 2019 to establish his own label in partnership with his sister Caroline, on just 1.5 hectares. From the first vintage, he has rejected synthetic products, worked by gravity, minimised sulphur and harvested at the final moment to ensure optimal grape quality. Today, across 14 hectares split between the Auxerrois and Chablisien, Clément and Caroline have placed the domaine among the most admired rising references of northern Burgundy, neighbours to Thomas Pico of Domaine Pattes Loup and De Moor.

Food pairings

This Chablis 45° pairs beautifully with Brittany oysters on ice, a seafood platter, steamed scallops, grilled langoustines, sea bass roasted in salt crust, sea bass tartare with citrus or asparagus risotto. It will also find harmony with aged goat cheese or fresh cheese with herbs. Served between 10 and 12 °C, it reveals the full mineral precision, iodine tension and crystalline purity of a slope Chablis deserving a place among the appellation's great expressions.