Notify me
2021 Chablis “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Savary
There’s good news and bad news about the 2021 vintage in Chablis. The good news is the ’21s are flush with all the qualities that made us fall in love with Chablis in the first place: crisp acidity, loads of stony minerality, and plenty of pleasure. The growing season was long and cool (a rarity these last few years), which did wonders with older vines such as these. Savary’s Vieilles Vignes, with its combination of brightness and depth, is akin to what I imagine Chablis enthusiasts were drinking decades ago. As for the bad news, a devastating frost struck Chablis in April 2021, resulting in the smallest harvest in modern history, so there’s not much, and it won’t be here long.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Chablis |
Country: | France |
Region: | Burgundy |
Producer: | Domaine Savary |
Winemaker: | Olivier Savary |
Vineyard: | 35 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Kimmeridgian Limestone |
Aging: | Wine is aged on fine lees |
Farming: | Traditional |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2019 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru “La Riotte”
France | Burgundy
Old vines planted just after WWII, spicy and deep, rich and full.

2023 Chablis “Les Truffières”
France | Burgundy
Devouring a fresh crab and pairing it with this pure, elegant, chalky, earthy (wet stone), and stunning finish is the perfect combo.

2022 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge “La Fortune”
France | Burgundy
This rouge is so silky and aromatic, reminiscent of strawberries and cherries. Open it over the next five years to fully enjoy its bright, fresh character.

2022 Marsannay Blanc “Les Longeroies”
France | Burgundy
It is pleasantly toasty and slightly nutty, evoking pretty orchard fruit and fresh citrus, with great acidity with a little grip.

2022 Gevrey-Chambertin
France | Burgundy
The fruit quality is dark and earthbound, like eating blackberries in the shade.

2021 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 1er Cru “La Boudriotte”
France | Burgundy
Larue’s home turf is Saint-Aubin, but with this Chassagne-Montrachet, the family shows how well it can steward neighboring terroirs too.

2022 Marsannay Rouge “Les Longeroies”
France | Burgundy
This single-vineyard Pinot Noir is what drinking great Burgundy is all about.

2022 Bourgogne Rouge “Garance”
France | Burgundy
A sneakily serious Pinot Noir.

2018 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru
France | Burgundy
With some age, this will develop into one of the most gorgeous Pinot Noirs to ever grace your glass.

2022 Gevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils
France | Burgundy
Old-vine Pinot Noir blended from several sites across Gevrey-Chambertin provides a textbook rendition of this village.
About The Producer
Famille Savary
The Savarys have 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. 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-muid. These exquisite wines are quintessential Chablis, with unmistakable aromas of ancient crushed shells and a pronounced, racy mineral structure.
About The Region
Burgundy
In eastern central France, Burgundy is nestled between the wine regions of Champagne to the north, the Jura to the east, the Loire to the west, and the Rhône to the south. This is the terroir par excellence for producing world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The southeast-facing hillside between Dijon in the north and Maranges in the south is known as the Côte d’Or or “golden slope.” The Côte d’Or comprises two main sections, both composed of limestone and clay soils: the Côte de Nuits in the northern sector, and the Côte de Beaune in the south. Both areas produce magnificent whites and reds, although the Côte de Beaune produces more white wine and the Côte de Nuits more red.
Chablis is Burgundy’s northern outpost, known for its flinty and age-worthy Chardonnays planted in Kimmeridgian limestone on an ancient seabed. Vézelay is a smaller area south of Chablis with similar qualities, although the limestone there is not Kimmeridgian.
To the south of the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise extends from Chagny on its northern end, down past Chalon-sur-Saône and encompasses the appellations of Bouzeron in the north, followed by Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny.
Directly south of the Chalonnaise begins the Côte Mâconnais, which extends south past Mâcon to the hamlets of Fuissé, Vinzelles, Chaintré, and Saint-Véran. The Mâconnais is prime Chardonnay country and contains an incredible diversity of soils.
More from Burgundy or France
2022 Bourgogne Rouge
Domaine Robert Chevillon France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
Domaine Robert Chevillon France | Burgundy
2022 Morey Saint Denis “En la Rue de Vergy”
René Bouvier France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge “La Fortune”
Domaine de Villaine France | Burgundy
2023 Bourgogne Rouge
La Sœur Cadette France | Burgundy
2023 Bourgogne Rouge
Domaine Larue France | Burgundy
2022 Rully Blanc “Les Saint-Jacques”
Domaine de Villaine France | Burgundy
2023 Côte de Nuits-Villages
Domaine Gachot-Monot France | Burgundy
2018 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru “Les Pruliers”
Domaine Taupenot-Merme France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Tonnerre
Roland Lavantureux France | Burgundy
2023 Savigny-Lès-Beaune 1er Cru “Aux Serpentières”
Domaine Pierre Guillemot France | Burgundy
2023 Chablis 1er Cru “Montée de Tonnerre”
Henri Costal France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Rouge
Domaine Robert Chevillon France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
Domaine Robert Chevillon France | Burgundy
2022 Morey Saint Denis “En la Rue de Vergy”
René Bouvier France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge “La Fortune”
Domaine de Villaine France | Burgundy
2023 Bourgogne Rouge
La Sœur Cadette France | Burgundy
2023 Bourgogne Rouge
Domaine Larue France | Burgundy
2022 Rully Blanc “Les Saint-Jacques”
Domaine de Villaine France | Burgundy
2023 Côte de Nuits-Villages
Domaine Gachot-Monot France | Burgundy
2018 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru “Les Pruliers”
Domaine Taupenot-Merme France | Burgundy
2022 Bourgogne Tonnerre
Roland Lavantureux France | Burgundy
2023 Savigny-Lès-Beaune 1er Cru “Aux Serpentières”
Domaine Pierre Guillemot France | Burgundy
2023 Chablis 1er Cru “Montée de Tonnerre”
Henri Costal France | Burgundy
Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch