{"product_id":"moreau-naudet-chablis-grand-cru-valmur-2025","title":"Moreau-Naudet Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll seven Chablis grand crus sit on one hill, on the right bank of the Serein just above the town, and Valmur sits in the middle, wedged between Grenouilles and Les Clos. It covers 10.5 hectares and is shaped like an amphitheater, so it is not one exposure but several: the main face runs south to west and catches the strongest light of the day, while a northwest flank across the fold stays cool and ripens later. The soil changes with height, deep and brown at the base of the bowl, thin and white higher up where the Kimmeridgian marl breaks the surface and the fossil oyster shells run thickest. Growers blend the warm side and the cold into one wine, and that contrast is why Valmur reads as both powerful and tightly wound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe domaine works roughly 0.6 hectares in Valmur, vines around 35 years old on the full southern exposure, the rows plowed by horse. Hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts, then raised close to two years on fine lees, a portion in old barrels and the rest in stainless steel. Nothing in the élevage adds flavor; it builds weight around a wine that would otherwise be all structure. Lemon oil, iodine, white peach skin and smoke, a dense saline attack and a long, stony finish that tightens rather than softens. 2024 was catastrophic by volume in Chablis. Frost April 18 to 25, hail on May 1, again June 29 and July 31, April-through-September rainfall 27 percent above average, regional losses of 60 to 90 percent. Sugars came in low; the wines are lean and high-toned. Give this five years before you touch it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStéphane Moreau built this cellar around restraint. Barrels are steamed rather than toasted, so the wood gives texture and oxygen exchange without the vanilla or char that makes oaked Chablis taste like something else. New oak is almost absent, and no more than about a third of any premier or grand cru sees wood. Fermentations run on the vineyard's own yeasts, sulfur additions are kept low, and the wines sit on their lees far longer than the regional norm. Virginie Moreau has held that line since 2016, and on Valmur she has kept the horse. Vincent Dauvissat, whose wines Stéphane studied closely, is said to admire theirs. In Chablis that is the only endorsement that matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChablis this saline deserves a centerpiece. Turbot or halibut roasted on the bone with butter and lemon gives the wine the fat and the gelatin it wants. Lobster poached in butter, served plain, meets iodine with iodine. A risotto of morels and chives finished with a little Comté works with the lees texture rather than against it. Or roast a chicken, carve it at the table and pour this alongside, which is what Chablis growers actually do. Buy two: one for the next big occasion, one for the back of the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stelvio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51442839224543,"sku":null,"price":185.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P9230392.jpg?v=1790224667","url":"https:\/\/danverwinemerchant.com\/products\/moreau-naudet-chablis-grand-cru-valmur-2025","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}