2021 Bekkers Chablis 1er Cru ‘Vaillons'

Emmanuelle’s secret French project

It’s no secret that we aspire for the Bekkers red wines to be an emblem for McLaren Vale and its relatively untapped potential at the “pointy end” of the fine wine world.

Part of our journey has included much work and travel to some of Europe’s finest regions and producers. Emmanuelle has completed numerous vintages in Burgundy and Bordeaux along the way.

For our Tasting Room experience we wanted to offer a white wine for special occasions. In all our travels we’ve not found a better white variety than Chardonnay. It’s a grape that is grown in McLaren Vale but the climate that so well suits Grenache and Shiraz limits our ability to produce a Chardonnay of similar calibre.

What then to do? We considered other varieties in McLaren Vale, and Chardonnay from Tasmania or the Adelaide Hills. Nothing really meshed with our history. We finally settled on leveraging Emmanuelle’s French heritage to make a Chardonnay in Chablis for release in Australia. It’s a great excuse to maintain an important link with her homeland and an opportunity to keep abreast of global trends.

As you can imagine fruit from these famous vineyards is difficult to source.

Grapes for the Bekkers Premier Cru Chablis are sourced from the highly regarded ‘Vaillons' vineyard with the aim of providing refreshing drinking throughout the Australian summer. This is no buttery, oaky Chardonnay. Citrus flavours and smoky minerality are underpinned by great natural acidity. Good Chablis has the capacity to age well in the cellar if you’ve the patience.

Variety:

Chardonnay

Ex-Cellar Door Price:

$95