La Forest Chablis 2019 Vincent Dauvissat

Forets(alternatively titled La Forest or Forêt) is a Premier Cru climat on the western side of the Serein river in Chablis. Located on a south-facing hill of high-quality Kimmeridgian soils just a few miles southwest of Chablis town, Forêts produces elegant, steely wines from the Chardonnay grape variety.

The vineyard is the central one of three adjacent vineyards that come under the 118-hectare (291-acre) Montmains Premier Cru name and lies between Butteaux and Montmains itself.

The practice of grouping vineyards together under the umbrella or flag-bearing title is common in Chablis, and the Fourchaume and Vaillons vineyards follow the same naming conventions. What is unusual in Montmains is that many wines are labeled by their respective sub-climats: Forêts and Butteaux are considered to be among the top Premier Cru sites in Chablis.

Forêts is delimited from neighboring Butteaux by its soils. While the two sub-climats share the same Kimmeridgian subsoils, with high proportions of limestone, there is some variation in texture. Forêts soils tend to be stonier and shallower than those in Butteaux with more – and more complex – clay, giving slightly more concentrated mineral characters to the subsequent wines.

The southeast aspect of the Forêts vineyard has an important impact on the wines made here. Vines are exposed to the morning sun, which provides ample opportunities for ripening in the cool Chablis climate. However, this sunlight is less intense than in the southwest facing vineyards on the eastern banks of the Serein (among them the Grand Cru climats), and so Forêts wines are noticeably leaner.

The ‘forêts‘ referred to in the climat’s name are no longer forest land, having been cleared for viticultural use long ago. Just a few strips of woodland remain, to the east of the Forêts vineyard, on either side of the D62 road linking Chablis and Courgis.