2022 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Sainte Claire 

One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn’t like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.

Some twenty years ago, Jean-Marc Brocard chose to establish his estate in Préhy, a small village near the town of Chablis…. At that time, one of his in-laws, Louis Petit, taught him about the vine and at the same time instilled a deep sense of tradition and respect for nature. Boosted by this knowledge and determined to dedicate himself to a vineyard, Jean-Marc Brocard planted a hectare of vines within the appellation of Chablis.

As a perfectionist, Jean-Marc Brocard naturally erected his purpose-built cellars in the centre of his vineyard to give the grapes his constant attention. Such dedication together with the best quality Chablis soil produce an exceptional wine with a typical mineral style. It is elegant and full of character. Jean-Marc Brocard’s boundless dedication to wine has borne fruit: the Brocard estate now comprises 80 hectares of vines, 65 of which are adjacent to the cellars.