Chablis Terroir de Beru 2018

Chablis Terroir de Beru, natural wine, biodynamic Chablis, 100% Chardonnay, clean and delightfully elegant Chablis. This wine doesn’t disappoint. Chablis should always be at the top of wine lists, a noble appellation that should inspire a sense of occasion in the drinker and it is a glass of white wine which should never let you down. Sadly many cheaper, poorer versions have muddied the waters (and terroir!) of Chablis and the reputation and expectation of the wine has somewhat diminished. Well, rest assured when you open a bottle of Beru Chablis, you know you are drinking world class Chardonnay. The Terroir de Beru is the cuvée blended from the estate’s different plots. It reflects the distinctive identity of Béru. The vines are planted on top of the hill of Béru and benefit from a unique micro-climate and stunningly pure and high quality terroir. The 2018 is full bodied, yet fresh, full of minerals, ripe stone fruits, creamy, lush, a subtle note of something toasty and a finish that tingles and lingers. ‘The perfect glass of Chablis.’

Chateau de Beru is a 400 year old domaine hosting some of the best terroir in Chablis.

It is a magnificent estate, full of grandeur and history. The ornate rooms are filled with paintings and furniture that date back centuries. Staying there is like stepping back in time to pre-revolutionary France with 4 poster beds and stunning views across the walled vineyards and hills of Burgundy. For centuries the potential of the beautiful 17th century estate went unrealised until in the 1980s Count Eric de Beru, fuelled by his passion for wine replanted the vines including the unique walled vineyard, Clos Beru! When he became ill the vineyards were rented and the grapes sold to the cooperative until in 2004 his daughter Athenais took over and revolutionised the estate, finally realising its great potential. After a visit to Argentina and an encounter with coffee farmers using biodynamics to produce their beans, she returned home and despite some resistance convinced her parents that the future of their wine lay in biodynamic production. Athenais has been working the 15 hectares of vines with biodynamic methods since 2008 and since then the quality and purity of the wines has soared. She is blessed with fabulous Chablis terroir, calcareous-clay soils of the Kimmeridgien era (notably with deposits of fossilised oysters dating back 150 million years ago) at 300 metres above sea level. Only using natural methods including horse rather than tractors, can this hallowed ground be protected and maintained. The wines are pure and alive and marry intensity with immense finesse. Athénaïs has also joined the 'Femmes et Vins de Bourgogne' (Women and Wines of Burgundy) an association set up to enable talented female wine makers - who are unfortunately still scarce in Burgundy - to share their experience and passion. Recently she has started to ferment a very small amount of fruit with the skins in Amphorae to make tiny quantities of orange wines, watch this space, we will get some, although not much!