Domaine Testut Chablis 1er Cru ‘Forêt’ 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Domaine Testut

The domain was created in 1967 by Philippe Testut, the founder of “Château Grenouille.” In 1998, the 13 hectares of vineyards were taken over by his son, Cyril. Occupying the historic heartland of Chablis vineyards initially farmed by Cistercian monks, Domaine Testut and its vineyards lie on some of the finest Kimmeridgian limestone soils. This terroir contributes to the classic, minerally crisp flavours of the wines.

Philippe Testut was the first in the family who wanted to be a vigneron, “it was his passion” says Cyril. Philippe’s first harvest was in 1963 at Domaine Long-Depaquit – Cyril’s grandfather was and old friend, from school-days, of the owners there. From 1966-1969 Philippe bought vineyards, helped by his father (Cyril’s grandfather). In 1975 Philippe’s father told him that he should work together with his siblings – there were 5 of them – it was something of a catastrophe, but they also managed to amass plenty of vineyard land, bought ‘en-friche.’

Eventually Philippe’s father decided to sell; whilst he’d supported Philippe, he had never had much interest in the domaine, at which time Philippe decided to go work in Châteauneuf du Pape. Today the domaine still boasts 13 hectares, including a little Château Grenouilles – but it was once much more, it was Philippe’s father that sold La Chablisienne their Grenouilles.

When Cyril first came, he spent most of his time in the vines redeveloping the domaine with his father who had returned from Châteauneuf. In 1998-99 Cyril began selling wines under his own label, before that, everything was sold to the ‘maisons’. Cyril works together with his wife and two others.

Testut’s vineyards in Chablis have an average age of 40 years and over 50 years for Premier Cru and Grand Cru. 
The soils of Testut’s vineyards allow the root systems to dive deep and draw in the soil minerals, giving the wines the stunning fine, saline acidity, for which Chablis has such a great reputation wine.

80% of Chablis AOC vines are on the right bank of the Serein, between Montee de Tonnerre Premier Cru and Blanchots Grand Cru, sites of serious pedigree.

In the Vineyard

Vine age combined with location make a recipe for stunning Chablis and Testut has both.

Testut’s vineyards in Chablis have an average age of 40 years and over 50 years for Premier Cru and Grand Cru.  Most of the vineyards has been propagated using Massale selection.

The soils of Testut’s vineyards allow the root systems to dive deep and draw in the soil minerals, giving the wines the stunning fine, saline acidity, for which Chablis has such a great reputation wine.

80% of Chablis AOC vines are on the right bank of the Serein, between Montee de Tonnerre Premier Cru and Blanchots Grand Cru, sites of serious pedigree.

Vineyard management takes the approach of common sense and sustainable care for the environment in an approach the French name lutte raisonnée.

Vineyards are worked by horse and fruit hand-harvested.

In the Winery

Details of the winemaking are slim. Hand-harvested fruit is pressed, which is a bigger deal than it might sound at first glance as some 85% of Chablis today is machine picked. The fruit is destemmed but pressed as whole berries after which it is settled naturally and racked after 24-48 hours.

Natural yeasts are employed with the fermentations carried out in stainless steel. The élevage period lasts for 16 to 18 months and is also done in stainless save for the Grenouilles which sees 15 to 20% wood. There is zero lees stirring and this allows the wine to fall brilliant without fining it though there is a polishing filtration. The style Testut wants is one of purity and transparency.

The 2019 Vintage at Domaine Testut

From Burghound:

“Cyril Testut is the latest generation of his family to run this 13 ha domaine. Their involvement in Chablis proceeded in fits and starts as it began in 1967 with the purchase of the Château de Grenouilles. The Testut clan grew the domaine to an impressive 60 ha before leaving Chablis in 1974 though importantly, when it decamped it did not sell the vineyards. Internal strife as to what to do with such an important holding finally led to the sale of most, but not all, of the vineyards in 1978 to a syndicate of local owners who ultimately chose to have it administered by the huge local cooperative known as La Chablisiènne (see herein). Cyril’s father however, had a passion for Chablis and its wines and elected to return to the region in 1982. At that point though, he had no base of operations and precious few vineyards and basically had to start over from scratch. He slowly expanded the domaine and Cyril joined in 1990 to help his father. Between 1982 and 1997 most of the wine was sold to négociants but the 1998 vintage marked the point where the domaine began to bottle most of its production; today approximately 90% of it is sold under the Domaine Testut name. As to the 2019 vintage, Testut briefly noted that “we began picking on the 12th of September and brought in ripe and clean fruit though unfortunately, yields were on average 50% less than we realized in 2018. By contrast, pHs were lower than they were in 2018 and thus the wines seem to have better energy and precision.” 

Where in the World is Domaine Testut?

Domaine Testut is in the heart of Chablis with an incredible cluster of vineyards in and around the Grand Cru section of Chablis.

Click on a map to enlarge 🔎

The Chablis governing body has an excellent interactive map that allows you to find producers and vineyards, zoom in and explore.

Chablis Geology & Geography Explored