Operatives know a good deal when they see one!

And now, something even more drool-inducing, a true rarity: Like HALF OFF a 1er Cru Chablis.

This one is a ‘Vieilles Vignes’ as in old vines from the often overlooked Beauroy that sits gloriously on its own hill right across the amphitheater of Grand Crus. To the Northeast is Fourchaume, and to the Southwest is Vau de Vey.

Perhaps equally overlooked is Domaine Alain Geoffroy, the tiniest of its kind, growing traditional Chablis that’s transparent as crystal, reflecting on site and vintage. Neal Martin of Vinous is “a big fan of the 2020 season in Chablis. In some ways it was a textbook vintage, more consistent than recent years, with just the right amount of warmth, though without the heat spikes… a growing season where Chablis’ leading exponents shone. Overall, the 2020s attain that liminal point between satisfying ripeness and that terseness, steeliness or the mineralité that underlie its reputation.”

Voila! Beautifully firm, crisp, yet chiseled and elegant, bursting with green apple and lacy quince and wet stones, it’s a white that’s tightly reined into a sharply focused, impressively long package where exotic mushrooms and nuances of seaweed add further alluring complexity and a touch of salinity. Firm but full of finesse, it’s a quintessential 1er Cru bursting at the seams with a staunch statement of terroir.

For the same 35 bucks, you can find a butter and oak bomb that long lost its identity to winemaking, that choice is yours. If Chablis is your thing though, you better not pass on this hard-to-replicate deal.

This too is a small stash of course, as is most boutique Burgundy, so it’s once again going, going…

92+ Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2020 Chablis Beauroy 1er Cru has a well-defined nose with attractive flint and undergrowth scents, unfolding almost coquettishly in the glass. With a proportional palate, there’s good acidity, and it’s taut and focused with a tensile, granite finish; this is a very commendable Beauroy that should age well in bottle. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis. Drink 2023-2038.”