Domaine Gerad Duplessis

Chablis, a prestigious vineyard located a dozen kilometers east of Auxerre , in the Yonne . The Duplessis FIELD , a house that builds on the experience of five generations of wine growers and produces, since his conversion in 2010 and its certification in 2013, the organic wines eco-label and soil on which it s' Express.

Chablis, a reputation dating back to the 9 th century, based on a single grape variety - Chardonnay - and has four appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Grand Cru. A limestone plateau deeply cut by valleys - in particular that of Serein -, marls and a thick layer of alluvium at river level. The Premiers Crus and Grands Crus occupy the most exposed areas - to the south and west - and develop their characteristic minerality on these slopes, which is accompanied by great conservation potential.

Today, Lilian Duplessis heads the wine estate . Concerned about the good health of the soils and the climatic challenges, it only works in organic production, anxious to respond with accuracy and respect to the various pathologies which threaten the vine. Practices which not only do not harm the quality of the wines, but are suitable for an increasingly strong demand from lovers of great Chablis. According to the vintages - 2018 for example -, the addition of sulfur may be completely absent from the winemaking.

The Duplessis FIELD , these are 8 hectares of vines divided into twenty plots each with its typicality, installed vines for some 75 years, and an attention of every moment, organic viticulture requires. Grand Cru Les Clos, Premiers Crus Vaugiraut, Mont-de-Milieu, Fourchaume, Montée-de-Tonnerre, Montmains and Vaillons: so many places with names well known to Chablis lovers, and honored on our Estate .

Our customers are mainly wine merchants, restaurateurs and exporters - our wines are appreciated in the United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, but also in northern Europe, Poland and Ukraine. We do not neglect individuals, who find in the cellar of the Quai de Reugny a warm welcome and a great tasting offer. Because wine has always been synonymous with conviviality and sharing taste experiences.

The work of the vine, in an appellation like that of Chablis, and on plots like those of DOMAINE DUPLESSIS, is essential to the production of high quality wines: over the seasons, we get busy between the rows to prune, clean, watch because that's where the wine is made.

No chemical fertilizers, no synthetic insecticides or fungicides, no product that can alter the soils or vines and, at the end of the process, the quality of our wines. Weeding is mechanical; grassing helps to fight many nuisances naturally; sulfur and copper - natural minerals - help fight against powdery mildew and mildew, in the lowest dosages. These constraints that we have imposed on ourselves voluntarily require additional attention and surveillance. The health of the soil, the vines, the winegrowers and the consumers is, in our opinion, at this price.

Grand Cru Les Clos , Premiers Crus Vaugiraut, Mont-de-Milieu, Fourchaume, Montée-de-Tonnerre, Montmains et Vaillons , Chablis , Petit-Chablis  : wines matured with care, talent and passion, for all different but all expressions respectful of the Chablis appellation.

After manual or mechanical harvesting depending on the plots, areas and slopes, comes the crucial stage of winemaking. The grapes, well treated during their growth, without synthetic products, arrive at the cellar for pressing and the different stages of winemaking: transform the sugar present in the berries into alcohol, stabilize the acidity, operations carried out in stainless steel tanks for 12 to 15 months depending on the plot. Then come the racking, the placing in barrels for a period of six months and the bottling. In your glass, finally, all the minerality and the body of Chablis, and all the aromatic variety of our different plots.

And what about the famous sulfites? Sulfur dioxide is only used in DOMAINE DUPLESSIS in very low doses - even below the recommendations of organic viticulture. Its antioxidant and antiseptic properties only aim to stabilize and protect wines that will not be sold until three years later. And when we can do without it, we don't hesitate to do it, as is the case with the 2018 vintage.

The DOMAINE DUPLESSIS made, in 2010, the choice of conversion to organic viticulture . Everyone wins - the vine, the winemaker, the consumer - and the wine does not lose, although we sometimes think. Our Chablis Grand Cru and Premiers Crus keep - in a good cellar, of course - up to 10 years, 15 years or more. And these are great Chablis.