Domaine Clotilde Davenne

What you will see

The visit at the domaine in Préhy takes in the vines and the winery and is followed by a tasting of the domaine's Chablis and Auxerre wines. Among them are Petit Chablis, Chablis, the premier cru Vaucoupin, Saint-Bris Sauvignons and an old-vine Aligoté. In Chablis itself, the domaine also offers tastings, food and wine pairings and rides through the vineyards in a vintage Méhari.

History

Clotilde Davenne grew up in the Burgundy countryside at the foot of the Morvan, where she learned the smells and tastes of plants, flowers and the kitchen garden. She studied oenology, began with the red wines of Beaujolais and worked in the sparkling-wine vineyards of California before coming back to Chablis, where she has worked as a cellar master since 1989.

In 1992 she planted her first Chardonnay vines, the start of what she calls the vineyard of lost time. In 2005 she founded her own domaine with the 8 hectares she had gathered over the years. It now covers about 30 hectares in 44 plots of different grapes and ages, and makes more than 17 cuvées in five appellations, from Petit Chablis to grand cru, Saint-Bris, Irancy and Crémant de Bourgogne. All the wines are made in stainless steel tanks.