2014 Domaine Costal, Chablis, Premier Cru Vaillons, White Burgundy, France.
With the Collet’s and Raveneau consulting, the Domaine Costal Chablis have a lot of talent going into them, and of course the savvy of Kermit Lynch behind the project almost puts it over the top, but they deliver, especially for the price, and this 2014 Vaillons in particular is a beauty with good depth of flavor and mineral steely character. Over the last 5 to 10 years Kermit has developed many value priced labels to help ease the pain of skyrocketing prices in top Burgundy, two of those that have continued to attract bargain hunters are Savary and Costal in Chablis, they are no longer well kept secrets, so you’ll need to get on it early to secure them, with many of the 2014’s selling out. With all the bad news coming out of the region and Chablis especially, hail and frost damage is going to make it hard to keep prices down, the vintage 2014 is a must grab year, before the lean amounts of wine really starts to get severe. For the good news, this 2014 Vaillons from Domaine Costal is a recent release and you should be able to get it, again you should not wait, it is a brilliant effort with striking citrus, white flowers, brisk acidity and solid extract showing lemon, green apple, liquid mineral, river stones and hints of straw, honey and zesty lime. This vigorous Premier Cru fills out on the palate, but stays nice and tension filled with balance and an appealingly pure Chardonnay soul/core throughout with Chablis terroir markers, like flinty spice and tangy crisp detail, light clove, fig and hazelnut play almost out of reach in the background. This well crafted white has control and finesse to really please the hardcore Chablis nuts, it is an alluring wine with a hint of austerity and old fashioned charm, sublime with cuisine and makes for a fine summer sipper. Drink over the next 3 to 5 years, the Domaine Costal Premier Cru Vaillons is a very complete and lovely wine, with very little buyers remorse to worry about!
($35 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive
