Since 1590: Chablis Seguinot-Bordet
During our lovely vacation in Chablis, Cinnamon and I visited Seguinot-Bordet to meet Jean-François Bordet, see his facility, and taste his wines. He is located in Maligny, a picturesque 10-minute drive north of the town of Chablis. Along the way you cross the river Serein to la rive droit and pass in front of Les Clos, Grenouilles, and Bougros Grand Crus and the Premier Cru of Fourchaume—a gorgeous ride!
The Seguinot-Bordet family has been producing wine since at least 1590, a mind-boggling history that began 186 years before the U.S. was founded. That is a crazy amount of experience, and it showed through in the wines. The property is 54 acres, with an impressive four acres in L’Homme Mort, the prized northern parcel in the Premier Cru of Fourchaume. His 10 acres of Petit Chablis are also very noteworthy, as they are on clay soil on the plateau of Maligny, and produce wines of very good body, the opposite of the green style usually associated with that appellation. He is certified for HVE—High Environmental Value—and used no chemical treatments at all in 2022.
In the winery, his German Sheppard, Olive, helped give us the tour and guide us through the tank samples of 2022s. He uses horizontal stainless-steel tanks, which are more difficult to work with, but provide more lees contact for the wines than traditional vertical tanks. There is very little oak used here. The 2022s were all of high quality, and showed off the warm weather of that harvest. The Fourchaume and the Petite Chablis stood out to me for retaining their acidity in this rich year.
We also tasted a few of his excellent 2021s, a short crop because of spring frost that reminds me very much of the excellent 2014 harvest when they were young. We are lucky enough to have a number of these in stock right now, and I strongly recommend grabbing the 2021s while you can. Cool, classically styled vintages like this are coming along less and less. The 2021 Domaine Seguinot Bordet Petit Chablis ($19.99) is a steal, and has fabulous white fruit to go along with its formidable minerality and lively acidity. The oldest vines in the 2021 Domaine Séguinot Bordet Chablis Vieilles Vignes ($27.99) were planted in 1906, and the youngest are 58 years old—so, calling this vieillies vignes is no exaggeration. This almost-clear wine has an incredible nose of clean Chablisienne earth, high-toned lime fruit and a focused, lively, and profoundly mineral finish from the deep roots of the ancient vines. We previewed a bottle of this before our trip with homemade fish and chips, and it was amazing.
Since visiting, we have drunk his incredible 2021 Domaine Seguinot Bordet Chablis 1er Cru "Fourchaume" ($39.99) twice. This wine comes entirely from the much more limestone-rich northern plot of L’Homme Mort just south of Maligny. This wine is loaded with oyster-shell savor and incredibly zippy lime fruit, along with body that reminds me of the best of the Côte d’Or. The finish is super long and brings back the clean oyster-shell minerality of the nose, carried by a wave of refreshing acidity. It went great by itself as the aperitif in our airport hotel before leaving France, and even better with Dungeness Crab two ways at home a week after returning! We also have his 2020 Domaine Seguinot Bordet Chablis Grand Cru "Vaudesir" ($69.99) and his 2020 Domaine Seguinot Bordet Chablis Grand Cru "Les Preuses" ($69.99) that I have yet to have the pleasure to taste… Yet!
A toast to you!
- Gary Westby, Champagne Buyer