Issuing from clay parcels rich with fossils, Michel’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux exhibits aromas of peach, tangerine zest and dried white flowers. More youthfully introverted than Forêts, it is medium to full-bodied, built around a spine of racy acidity and with ample structuring extract, concluding with a saline finish.
Guillaume Michel presides over this 25-hectare estate, with most of the land located in the historic part of Chablis. This estate has long been a reference point for tank-fermented and -matured Chablis, a style that the Michel family helped to popularize in the 1980s. Intense and tensile wines are the calling card here, pure and unadorned in style.
Seventy percent of Michel’s holdings are in premier cru and grand cru zones, with the average age of vines being 50 years. Today, seven people work in the vineyards year-round. Organic farming is practiced, except for years with major weather incidents.
In the cellar, fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeast, malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously, and there is no cold stabilization. Some cuvées see a slightly longer élevage: usually eight to 10 months for Petit Chablis and Chablis Village, 13 to 18 months for premiers crus and 18 months for grands crus. This extended maturation on lees only enhances their quality.
Since 2021, all wines have been bottled under Diam closures, which should ensure their graceful evolution in the bottle.
Certain cuvées stand out—at the premier cru level, the old-vine Butteaux, Séchet and Montée de Tonnerre, while at the grand cru level it’s Vaudésir and Les Clos.- Wine Advocate
