Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Forets 2023

We are just back from Chablis. The 2026 harvest came in under extreme heat, no rain, and small yields, and 2024 was no easier. Two short years in three. Demand for white Burgundy at fair pricing has never been higher, and with two thin vintages behind the cellar doors, we are fortunate to keep receiving excellent allocations from partners we have worked with for years.

Louis Michel is one of them. The family has farmed Chablis since the 1850s. Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel is the sixth generation, and he stays true to the game: an extensive spread of Premier Cru holdings, no oak anywhere in the cellar, and wines that are classical every single vintage. Stainless steel, Kimmeridgian limestone, and nothing in between.

Forêts is a lieu-dit within Montmains on the left bank of the Serein. Cooler exposure, dense fossil limestone, and the tension that comes with it. 

The 2023 is open and accessible now. Lemon pith, white peach, wet stone, a saline finish that runs long. It also has the acid and the material to sit in the cellar for years. Given what the next two vintages look like, this is the one to put away.