Chablis, Les Pargues vieilles vignes, Moreau-Naudet 2022

After a short period of considering her options, Virginie decided to try her hand and we are very glad she did: her wines have proved to be impressive. Moreau is a well-known name in Chablis, however this domaine comes from the Naudet family. From the 18th century it had passed from father to son until 1950 when a Monsieur Moreau married a Mademoiselle Naudet. Stéphane Moreau joined his father, Roger, in 1991 after studying in Beaune. Stéphane was an acolyte of the revered winemaker, Vincent Dauvissat, and it was Vincent who introduced us to him. The domaine extends to 25 ha with 7.5 ha being across four 1er crus, the most important being Vaillons, and 0.6 ha of grand cru Valmur. The vines are worked organically, and the grapes all hand-picked. The wines spend more time in élevage than is usual in Chablis – from 18 to 22 months – but the use of oak is careful. The Chablis and Petit Chablis, for example, only see stainless steel and only a third of each 1er and grand cru goes into barrel which Virginie juggles between tonneaux and larger demi-muids.