Domaine Besson, Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, Burgundy, France, 2020

Producer Profile

Situated in the heart of Chablis, Domaine Besson is the proud possessor of an exceptional wine-producing heritage, seeking to express and transmit through its wines the purity and sensitivity of this unique terroir.

The estate is an independent, family-owned and run domaine spanning four generations. Today, their 21ha comprises holdings in Petit Chablis, Chablis and selected Premiers/Grands Crus. Owner Alain Besson has recently handed more control to his daughter Camille, who looks after the winemaking and marketing, and son Adrien, who is responsible for the vineyard work. Practising lutte raisonnée in the vineyards and manual harvesting for the Grands Crus, the family’s thoughtful, sensitive winemaking gives rise to a range of wines that offer a pure expression of fruit combined with fine and elegant styling.

Viticulture

This Grand Cru comes from a roughly 0.15 ha parcel in the Les Clos climat—Kimmeridgian limestone-clay vineyard on Chablis’s southwest slope. Vines are sustainably farmed with Guyot pruning, continued mechanical ploughing, and manual harvesting.

Winemaking

Grapes are whole-cluster pressed gently, and fermentation happens entirely in stainless steel at controlled temperatures (19–21 °C), with a relatively high proportion aged on fine lees (around 18 months). No new oak is used—this preserves the wine’s purity and focus on terroir

Tasting Note

Domaine Besson’s Les Clos Grand Cru shows a pale yellow robe with soft golden reflections. The nose is complex and inviting, combining yellow orchard fruit and citrus (pear, peach, apricot, lemon, pineapple) over subtle white florals and a pronounced oyster-shell, wet-stone minerality. On the palate, it’s round yet tension-filled, marrying juicy fruit with a linear, steely core and a long, saline finish.

Food Matching

Veal escalopes, lobster thermidor, or gratin dauphinois.