One of the rising producers in Chablis, Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, continues to impress year after year. The family's winemaking roots date back to 1614, with Benoît being the 14th generation at the helm. Their holdings are among the best in the region, and the Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has become a benchmark bottling. Sourced from 1.76 hectares in the Chapelot and Côte de Bréchain sectors—just next to the Grand Cru slopes—this cuvée comes from 50-year-old vines and is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, then aged in a small portion (about 10–30%) of oak, including some new barrels. The 2023 vintage offers a particularly balanced and ripe profile, with layered texture and bright energy. Aromatics show white orchard fruit, citrus oil, herbs, and saline notes, while the palate delivers classic Chablis tension with vibrant acidity and iodine-laced minerality. This is a serious, cellar-worthy wine that overdelivers for its classification, and at this low price, it's a fantastic buy as one of the top MDTs of the vintage.
Decanter (Charles Curtice MW) 95 points! "This exquisite wine enchants with a complex nose of lime peel, gooseberry and pear with hints of smoky reduction and a salty mineral edge. The wine is dense and compact, and its weight is perfectly balanced by racy acidity. The grapes are from 1.76ha in the blue clay soils of the Côte de Bréchain. They are crushed and fermented in tank and cask (25%). In the view of Benoît Droin, this is a 'super premier cru' – grand cru-adjacent, like Chambolle Amoureuses and Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques. "
Vinous (Neal Martin) 93 pts! The 2023 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has a more austere bouquet of light fumé notes mixed with petrichor–a more uncompromising aromatics than the Vaulorent, one for hardcore Chablis-lovers. The palate is taut and fresh, displaying good body and density. Very pure with a strict and persistent finish. Excellent. (Drink between 2026 - 2035)
2023 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
2023 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
One of the rising producers in Chablis, Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin, continues to impress year after year. The family's winemaking roots date back to 1614, with Benoît being the 14th generation at the helm. Their holdings are among the best in the region, and the Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has become a benchmark bottling. Sourced from 1.76 hectares in the Chapelot and Côte de Bréchain sectors—just next to the Grand Cru slopes—this cuvée comes from 50-year-old vines and is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, then aged in a small portion (about 10–30%) of oak, including some new barrels. The 2023 vintage offers a particularly balanced and ripe profile, with layered texture and bright energy. Aromatics show white orchard fruit, citrus oil, herbs, and saline notes, while the palate delivers classic Chablis tension with vibrant acidity and iodine-laced minerality. This is a serious, cellar-worthy wine that overdelivers for its classification, and at this low price, it's a fantastic buy as one of the top MDTs of the vintage.
Decanter (Charles Curtice MW) 95 points! "This exquisite wine enchants with a complex nose of lime peel, gooseberry and pear with hints of smoky reduction and a salty mineral edge. The wine is dense and compact, and its weight is perfectly balanced by racy acidity. The grapes are from 1.76ha in the blue clay soils of the Côte de Bréchain. They are crushed and fermented in tank and cask (25%). In the view of Benoît Droin, this is a 'super premier cru' – grand cru-adjacent, like Chambolle Amoureuses and Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques. "
Vinous (Neal Martin) 93 pts! The 2023 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has a more austere bouquet of light fumé notes mixed with petrichor–a more uncompromising aromatics than the Vaulorent, one for hardcore Chablis-lovers. The palate is taut and fresh, displaying good body and density. Very pure with a strict and persistent finish. Excellent. (Drink between 2026 - 2035)
