ELENI & EDOUARD VOCORET

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Eloni & Edouard Vocoret.jpg 190.92 KB

Some dismiss Chablis as an overrated brand name lacking the excitement of many newly (re)discovered vineyard regions around the world, but they’re missing the point. Top-level wines here are French classics whose next chapter is being written by a compelling new generation.  “When I moved to Chablis in 2010 I wasn’t a big fan of Chardonnay,” Eleni Vocoret shouts over the sounds of French hip-hop group Nique Ta Mere (Fuck Your Mother) while husband Edouard drives us to their vineyards. “After about a week we were invited to dinner and a friend gave me a glass of 2005 Dauvissat Chablis Grand Cru ‘Les Clos’ without telling me what it was. As soon as I tried it I said, “I want to make wine like this!”
 
Having been gifted 5ha of vines from Édouard’s family domaine – Vocoret et Fils – by his father Patrice at the end of 2012, the couple’s accomplished Chablis belies the fact their eponymous estate – Domaine Eleni et Édouard Vocoret – is barely five vintages old. “My dad has never told us what to do – he said here’s your vines, you make the wine the way you want,” explains Édouard, 30, of the couple’s stylistic departure. With his grandfather lending the use of a small garage in which to make their first vintages and Patrice, as well as local legend Vincent Dauvissat (for whom Eleni, 31, worked as assistant winemaker), on hand to give advice, the couple’s use of natural yeast and traditional techniques like ploughing has the aims of expressing terroir. “I trained with Daniel Barraud in Vergisson [Maconnais] and fell in love with how he made wine – that’s when I chose to work a different way to how my family had been working,” explains Édouard of the time before he met his half-Greek, half-German wife while travelling in New Zealand. “Most Chablis is only made in steel tanks, but that’s not what we’re looking for,” continues Eleni as the Audi ascends a hill on the outskirts of town. “We want the stoniness, saltiness and acidity, but using old oak barrels helps smooth the wines out.”
 
Vitality and balance is the hallmark of the Vocorets’ wines, all of which are aged in old oak barrels, and they are already regarded as one of the foremost artisanal domaines in the region. 'Bas de Chapelot' is made from a village parcel nestled just beneath 1er Cru 'Montée de Tonnerre', while 1er Cru 'Butteaux' is one of the top examples of the appellation, combining the minerality typical of Chablis with a sense of weight and complexity only found in the region's best wines.

LOCATION: ELENI & EDOUARD VOCORET

ELENI & EDOUARD VOCORET
GENERAL INFO PRODUCER APPELLATIONS FOUNDED ANNUAL PRODUCTION FARMING
ELENI & EDOUARD VOCORET Chablis 1er Cru 2012 N/A Organic (in conversion)
Chablis
TECHNICAL INFO WINE BLEND VINE AGE SOIL TYPE VINEYARD AREA
Chablis ‘Bas de Chapelot’ Chardonnay 38 years Limestone/clay 3 ha
Chablis 1er Cru ‘Butteaux’ Chardonnay 62 years Limestone/clay 0.3ha

GENERAL INFO

  • PRODUCER: ELENI & EDOUARD VOCORET
  • APPELLATIONS:
  • FOUNDED: 2012
  • ANNUAL PRODUCTION: N/A
  • FARMING: Organic (in conversion)

TECHNICAL INFO

  • Chablis ‘Bas de Chapelot’
  • BLEND: Chardonnay
  • WINE AGE: 38 years
  • SOIL TYPE: Limestone/clay
  • VINEYARD AREA: 3 ha
  • Chablis 1er Cru ‘Butteaux’
  • BLEND: Chardonnay
  • WINE AGE: 62 years
  • SOIL TYPE: Limestone/clay
  • VINEYARD AREA: 0.3ha