In my earlier article I wrote about two Chardonnay wines from Maison Joseph Drouhin. One coming from Macon-Villages comes from a large region in the south end of Burgundy and the other from their Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis, from the Valley of Vauvillien. Today I have the other two Chardonnay to tell you about. Both are estate Chablis, one being their Chablis Reserve de Vaudon 2022 and the other their Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2022.
According to Decanter, the 2022 vintage in Burgundy was characterized by a hot, dry, and sunny growing season, ranking as one of the driest and sunniest since 1900, which nonetheless produced an abundant, high-quality crop with surprising freshness. Despite fears of drought, timely rains in June (which charged the soil with water) and again in August (which helped the grapes finish ripening) prevented the vines from shutting down.
So will these two wines be showing the results of the sunny, dry, growing season? Here are my tasting notes for these two wines.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Joseph Drouhin Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis Reserve de Vaudon 2022 (BC $53.99)
Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-plus intensity mix of lemon and gold.
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of stone fruits, apple blossom and touches of toast, honey, and stoniness. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-plus body with a thicker, smooth, round mouthfeel. Medium-plus intensity flavours of ripe stone fruits, pineapple, along with some ripe apple and a touch of oak. Medium, soft acidity. Light body and mouthfeel after decanting. The wine also feels softer and has lighter flavours. You can add some apple blossom to the list of flavours after decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus to long length, finishing with ripe pineapple, stone fruit, and apples on the palate, some some pepperiness and tartness. Oak at the very end. This wine is smooth with a thicker mouthfeel to the end. Less thick mouthfeel after decanting, while the flavours stay unchanged.
Rating: 
Joseph Drouhin Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis Réserve de Vaudon 2022 shows a bright lemon-gold colour with medium aromas of stone fruits and apple blossom, layered with touches of toast, honey and stony minerality. Dry and medium-plus in body, it offers a smooth, round texture with ripe stone fruit, pineapple and apple flavours, supported by soft acidity and a light touch of oak. The medium-plus to long finish lingers with pineapple, stone fruit and apple, along with a hint of pepperiness, tartness and oak at the very end.
Joseph Drouhin Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2022 (BC $86.99)
Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-plus to deep intensity mix of lemon and gold in the glass.
Nose: Light aromas of pineapple, dried pineapple, dried stone fruits, along with touches of toast, honey, and apple. Toast is more noticeable on the nose after decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth mouthfeel. Pronounced, bright flavours of crisp apple, citrus and pineapple. Tart on the tongue. There is a touch of toasty oak and dry stoniness as well. You get a thicker mouthfeel after decanting; fuller bodied. The flavours become more mellow, less tart.
Finish: Medium-plus to long length finishing, with tart flavours, with citrus, pineapple, and a touch of oak. Less tart finish after decanting with a richer mouthfeel and stoniness on the finish.
Decanting softens this wine and you get a fuller body and thicker mouthfeel, which I think makes this wine a bit better. Decanting recommended.
Rating: Joseph Drouhin Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2022 shows a bright lemon-gold colour with light aromas of pineapple, dried pineapple and dried stone fruits, joined by touches of toast, honey and apple, with the toast becoming more noticeable with air. Dry and medium-plus in body, it offers a smooth mouthfeel with lively flavours of crisp apple, citrus and pineapple, along with hints of toasty oak and stony minerality that become more mellow and fuller with time in the glass. The medium-plus to long finish carries citrus and pineapple with a light touch of oak, softening to a richer, less tart expression with added stoniness as the wine opens.
From these two tasting notes, I can say that you can taste the effects of the hotter, drier summer weather, with riper fruit and more intense fruit flavours, and less acidity in the wines.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
