Tasted in Beine with Stéphanie Mosnier, 20 March 2019.

Domaine Sylvain Mosnier
36 Route Nationale
89800 Beine
Tel: +33 3 86 42 43 96
www.chablis-mosnier.com

Sylvain Mosnier, the grandson of a winemaker, took on the vines from his wife, Monique’s, side of the family. He had started his vinous career in 1978, aged 34, by renting 2 hectares of Chablis vines from his newly retired father-in-law – but there were also many generation of the family behind him that had worked the vines of Poilly-sur-Serein. His wife joined him in 1995 to help develop the bottling of the estate’s wines. Their daughter, Stéphanie, has been working here since 2007 after working for a time in Lyon – she is the wine-make today.

The domaine’s vines are principally sited between Beine and La Chapelle de Vaupelteigne – Stéphanie’s grandmother was from La Chapelle. The domaine today extending over 19 hectares of vines, though not all is commercialised in bottle “It depends on the vintage,” says Stéphanie, “But normally about half of the volume would be typical. France is the largest market, we have some export though.”

The wines are all made in tank, but a small cuvée was made in 2018 with some wood. Everything bottled at the end of July.

The wines…

A super set of wines – each one completely delicious – and what a treat to finish!

All ‘DIAM-style’ seals for the last two years. Started in 2011 with the PC and slowly widened from there, given the positive experience.

2017 Petit Chablis
Whilst they have 4 hectares of vines in PC, this is a small vintage here, principally because of the frost – they made a little less than half a harvest.
Just a modest touch of toasty reduction. Nice energy and volume in the mouth – open, complex, needs that touch of reduction to fade but bright, pure super wine – excellent!

2017 Chablis
Deeper aromas, and no reduction. A little more impact and weight to the flavour here, still a lovely, and quite mouth-watering flavour. A super line of finishing flavour here – the one part that’s clearly more impressive than the PC. Excellent again!

2017 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
A blend of parcels.
More depth of aroma and more width in that depth! Directly more intense, a little less volume but it’s growing over the palate. Certainly more incisive and mouth-watering. More overtly mineral in the middle then a finish that resembles the previous Chablis – ie – excellent! Super wine again!

2017 Chablis 1er Beauroy
‘A lot of clay in the soil here.’
A mix – there’s a suggestion of toasty reduction, but at the same time there’s an extra floral aspect too. More weight, more depth, there’s a fine depth of mineral flavour here, but without rigour. Wide, mouth-wateringly complex. So delicious, once more.

2017 Chablis 1er Côte de Lechet
Unlike the soil in Beauroy, mainly small stones here.
A very attractive minerality here – really an invitation. Direct, tighter, but fine mouth-watering flavour – über-mineral, but tasty wine, lots of salinity. Proper, excellent Chablis.