ChardonnayExpression2024DomaineStHilaire,Paysd’Oc

Unmistakeably made in the style of Chablis. With no oak influence, this decidedly pure and poised Chardonnay has the classic minerality looked for by those wanting to pair it with river fish, chicken dishes and summer salads. Vincent Maurel captures the wine’s intrinsic fruitiness by bottling after 4 months, with the wine seeing no malolactic (secondary) fermentation. It has a bouquet of orange blossom and excellent green-fruit Chardonnay flavours (apple skin, kiwi and lime peel) with fine acidity. Rather enjoyable drunk on its own as well.

2024 �13.5%

Domaine St Hilaire in Montagnac, owned by Patrick and Elizabeth Martellucci, is one of the leading wineries in the Languedoc. This 76-hectare estate has probably been producing wines since Roman times, but it was Baron Hilaire Reynaud who named it after his patron saint, Saint Hilaire, when he acquired it in 1817. The baron was a local celebrity who achieved illustrious fame as a general and hero of Napoleon’s Grande Armée.

At Domaine Saint Hilaire there are 34 hectares of vineyards, with two distinct areas, each with its own natural terroir, perfectly suited to the growing of different grape varieties. The stony plateau is where the red varieties are grown; the vines having an average age of 40 years, with yields that never exceed 35hl./ha. Down at the bottom of the hillsides there are more alluvial soils, ideal for the production of Chardonnay and Vermentino. There is minimum intervention in the vineyards and largely organic methods are used, with the sea breezes keeping diseases at bay and reducing the need for chemical vineyard treatments.

The wine making team is headed up by Vincent Maurel, who has been making the wines at Saint Hilaire for over 25 years. Vincent is well-known for his attention to detail and the Kents have extensively invested in new winery equipment to make sure that the wines have an added level of precision and depth. Where oak is used, the barrels are sourced from top Burgundian coopers and are a mix of new and one or two year-old barrels, giving the wines the necessary balance and complexity.

Contains Sulphites