Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 2023 (750ml) *

Unoaked or lightly oaked, grown on the cool northern edge of Burgundy, Chablis gives Chardonnay a leaner, more mineral cast than the fuller wines made further south. This village-level bottling from Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin comes from the 2023 vintage, with fruit drawn from the blue clay soils of the Côte de Bréchain. Fermentation happens partly in tank and partly in cask (about a quarter), a split that keeps the wine bright while adding a touch of texture.

The nose runs toward orchard fruit, apple and pear and peach, with lime peel and a whiff of smoky reduction giving way to something distinctly saline and iodine-tinged. On the palate it is dense and satiny, round through the middle but held in check by racy acidity that carries into a sapid, faintly chalky finish. A little sour lemon and green apple linger at the close, marking it as unmistakably Chablis.