Famille Savary "Hommage" Chablis, Burgundy, France 2023

FROM KERMIT LYNCH:

THE WINE: I admittedly felt a bit skeptical upon hearing of this brand-new Chablis from Domaine Savary. When you already produce stunning wines from two esteemed premiers crus, plus a show-stopping old-vine bottling, why add another? The Savarys assert that this cuvée “gives another style of Chablis, conveying a more saline, iodized minerality that recalls the Chablisien geology and its little oyster shells, Exogyra Virgula.” Indeed, its character stands apart from their other wines: it smells just like the ocean, with a sea-mist freshness to more than satisfy that itch in the back of your throat—the dry feeling that can only be satiated by something bracingly cold and crisp. —Anthony Lynch

THE PRODUCER: In Maligny, a village well-poised between Paris and Dijon, just north of Chablis, Olivier Savary and his wife, Francine, have been vignerons since 1984. Though many of Olivier’s family members were vignerons, an unfortunate series of challenging harvests discouraged his parents from joining the family business. Chardonnay runs strongly through his veins, however, and Olivier pursued wine school in Dijon regardless of the fact that he would have no vines of his own. Olivier and Francine arranged to farm some vineyard land en métayage (share cropping) in the Chablis and Petit Chablis appellations. With his father at his side to farm the complex network of vineyards, Olivier initially sold off the majority of his production in bulk to a négociant. Emboldened by their years of combined experience and family history of winemaking, Francine and Olivier finally found their wings and began bottling under their own label. In 1990, Olivier's longtime friend and Chablis legend Jean-Marie Raveneau introduced Olivier to Kermit. Today, Francine and Olivier are joined by their sons, Maxime and Mathieu, whose ambition and young energy ensures a bright future for the domaine.

The Savarys have finally earned the recognition for their hard work, and are highly regarded in the appellation. The clay-limestone hillsides of the Kimmeridgian chain are excellent for growing dazzling, complex Chardonnay, also known here as “Beaunois.” However ideal the soil, Olivier brings his own brilliance to the table. The grapes from his vineyards throughout the Chablis appellation are blended into one fabulously complex village wine cuvée. He also bottles an extraordinary premier cru from Fourchaume, as well as a separate cuvée of old-vine fruit in heavy, wax-sealed bottles after élévage in demi-muids. These exquisite wines are quintessential Chablis, with unmistakable aromas of ancient crushed shells and a pronounced, racy mineral structure.