“Still waters run deep”
This is the best way to compare the wines of the somewhat shy Jean-Claude. Wines that only reveal themselves after a certain time, but in such an intense and beautiful way that you forgot how fantastic a Chablis wine can be. The estate's wines reflect their different climats particularly well. Also, very little wood is used during the aging and a constant is that the wines become more complex and complete with bottle aging. In summary, it can be said that Mr. Bessin is a very talented winemaker who makes pure wines with depth and structure. He is undoubtedly one of the best winemakers in Chablis. Three successive vintages 2010, 2011 and 2012 are simply magnificent despite the difficult growing seasons.
The domain itself is located 5 km northeast of Chablis, left of the river Serein, in the hamlet of La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne. The van Bessin family has been producing wine here for over 200 years. Jean-Claude, together with his wife Evelyne, started in 1992 to thoroughly restore the domain and its vineyards. This now includes almost 11 ha of vineyards, of which 5.25 ha Chablis, 3.43 ha 1er Cru Fourchaume (including the old plot of the Comte de Maligny) and Montmains in which he distinguishes the adjacent vineyard La Fôret with a separate label. As icing on the cake, there are still 2.08 hectares of Grand Cru Valmur, a vineyard facing south. The sticks on the domain are between 40 and 80 years old.