Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis

Domaine Long-Depaquit — Albert Bichot's 65-hectare Chablis estate, certified organic from 2018 — sits entirely on Kimmeridgian limestone and clay, the ancient seabed geology that gives Chablis its distinctive oyster-shell salinity and taut, chalky tension. The 2022 growing season brought a hot, dry summer and early harvest, producing Chardonnay of unusual aromatic generosity and full-bodied weight while the Kimmeridgian subsoil preserved the structural acidity that defines the appellation.

At village level, Long-Depaquit ferments and ages in 100% stainless steel — no oak contact whatsoever — a deliberate choice that strips away any textural softening and forces the wine to speak entirely through its terroir. This is the same estate that holds La Moutonne, the 2.35 ha quasi-monopole spanning Vaudésir and Preuses Grand Crus that was excluded from the 1938 Grand Cru classification, making Long-Depaquit one of Chablis's most historically anomalous landholders. Vinification follows the house's non-interventionist protocol: handpicked fruit, gravity racking, minimal handling throughout.

The 2022 vintage delivers ripe, generous stone fruit and white blossom underpinned by the estate's signature flint-and-chalk minerality — approachable now but structured for three to five years of further development.