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Domaine William Févre
The Winery
Domaine William Févre
"Wine is sunlight, held together by water."
- Galileo
One of the most celebrated and sought after wines in Chablis, William Févre founded the winery he chose as his namesake in 1957. With over 100 acres planted to grand and premier cru, Févre has grown immensely since being sold to Joseph Henriot, a Champagne house, while Févre moved to Chile to practice oenology abroad.
Stylistically, the wines are oaky, sometimes too oaky for those with low threshold. Since the winey changed hands, the oak treatment has curtailed quite a bit. The delicate fruit is always hand harvested, to ensure intact and uncompromised grapes. Févre himself was incredibly dedicated to the Chablis grape, and fought hard to keep fine lines drawn as to what qualified and what didn’t, and making sure the term was not bastardized. These wines are classic, quintessential Chablis. Vintages to look out for include 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005.
Tasting Notes
- BH93–96
- There is noticeable wood on the ripe and intensely floral nose that also reflects notes of pear, white peach and algae. This is an imposingly scaled wine with its broad and muscular mouth feel that exudes a seemingly endless reserve of minerality on the almost painfully intense finish that delivers flat out amazing length. This is a very powerful wine that is akin to sucking on rocks it is so mineral-inflected. Brilliant. Range: 93-96
- WA95
- The Fevre 2012 Chablis Les Clos – tasted some six or more months ahead of bottling – puts the hierarchy of crus into perspective with a performance of amazing concentration and complexity. A saline and alkaline sea breeze alliance, chalk dust, fresh lemon and tangerine, iris, and greenhouse-like profusion of leafing things leap from the glass. This comes to the palate with exhilarating electric intensity and lift, suffused with mineral elements and lees for a combination of textural caress and density, yet at the same time brightly refreshing in its tart-edged evocation of firm apple and fresh citrus. Oyster liqueur floods the finish with salivary gland-milking concentration even as a torrent of juicy citrus is unleashed. This should remain profoundly memorable through at least 2024.
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