Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin En Primeur

The Droin brothers are the 14th generation of their family to make wine, with a history in Chablis reaching back exactly 400 years, so it’s reasonable to assume they know their business. And with vineyard holdings in almost every Grand Cru and Premier Cru, and significant parcels across Chablis and Petit Chablis they transcend the region like no other producer.

Our access to their wines continues to improve and I was able to taste across the entire 2019 range in October 2020 with Benoît. My overall impression is that this is a great vintage that has everything. There is fruit power and pleasure, but nothing over the top. Flavours cover orchard and citrus (when I taste lemons, I’m in love) and the hallmark chalk-mineral notes of Chablis (sometimes you swear you can smell oysters or the sea) is there in spades. The concentration in the wines suggest most if not all will improve with 5 years and more in the cellar. Yet Benoît’s wines are always fantastic at any age.

~ Justin Knock MW