Sourced from 60- to 77-year-old vines in four of this premier cru's climats, including Séchet, Moreau-Naudet’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons is vinified 70% in tank, with the remainder in oak (old 228-liter barrels and a few 600-liter foudres). Opening from the glass with an expressive bouquet of tangerine zest, white flowers, pear and oyster shell, it’s followed by a medium to full-bodied palate with ample chalky extract and a saline finish. It’s broader than Beauregard but simultaneously racier than Montmains. This estate has seen no less than five generations, but it only marketed its first bottles in 1991. Today, Virginie Moreau presides over this 25-hectare domaine following the premature passing of Stéphane Moreau in 2016. The order of the day is organic (though not certified) farming, harvesting ripe yet clean fruit cropped at modest yields and extended maturation—18 months on the lees in a combination of used oak barrels (mostly 228-liter, averaging 10 years old) and stainless steel, with final settling in tank for two to four weeks. After a series of sunny vintages, Virginie has started to vinify more wine in tank (Montmains and Valmur are now matured entirely in stainless steel), as she believes this helps retain more of the classically Chablisien signatures. These wines are always concentrated and textural, among the most characterful to be found in Chablis. The range of premier cru bottlings is the focus at this address, typically attaining its apogee(KK)