Domaine Roland Lavantureux Chablis Vauprin 2023

Domaine Roland Lavantureux works in Chablis, the northern outpost of Burgundy set among cold hills close to Champagne. The family began making wine here in the 1960s, and the estate farms sustainably across the appellation's classic soils. Chablis is defined by its Kimmeridgian limestone, a fossil-rich seabed of clay and ancient oyster shell that gives the Chardonnay its steely, saline minerality, while the cool, marginal climate holds a high, taut acidity. Vauprin is aged around ten months, split between stainless steel and older barrels: the steel keeps the fruit precise and the neutral wood adds a little breadth and roundness through slow lees contact without adding oak flavour. The colour is pale straw with green glints. The nose is clean and mineral, with lemon, green apple and white flowers over a chalky, flinty note. The palate is dry and tightly wound, the citrus and orchard fruit carried by a stony, saline spine to a fresh, lingering finish. Serve at 9 to 11 degrees in a white-wine glass.