This year we have visited Spain once, France three times, and toured around a number of vineyards in England. In France we visited the wine regions of Alsace, Chablis, Cote de Beaune, Cote de Nuits, Chinon, Saumur, Savennieres, and Menetou Salon and met 16 winemakers of which 10 were new to us. 

A Visit to a Flying Winemaker

Richard is an enthusiastic and engaging young man who clearly has vast knowledge of winemaking and infinite patience and generosity towards visitors for a wine tasting. After walking us around his production facilities we descended into his tasting room, brilliantly decorated with wall murals painted by his mother, where 9 different Chablis were ready and waiting for us.

We began however with a Sauvignon Blanc, a grape permitted to be grown in the area around the village of St Bris just outside Chablis, so simply known as Sauvignon St Bris. Now, Michael, Sharon’s husband detests Sauvignon Blanc so was not best pleased …. but he tried it and was staggered! Clearly the terroir of this area plus Richard’s biologique approach transforms the wine into something of lower acidity and no cats pee aromas! As he said, this wine should give aromas of “cassis/blackcurrant Flowers” without the heavy gooseberry normally associated with it, and it sure did. One case, straight into the car. Bargain at €7.50 per bottle.

All of Richard’s wines flex between being of high or low minerality, moderate or high complexity, medium or long finish so it becomes a question of personal taste for all of his wines made from a single grape …. the noble Chardonnay. However as you climb the grades the complexity and depth of each wine increases, as does the price, but at €13 per bottle of his “standard” Chablis 2017 this is an absolute bargain ….. another case straight into the car. Daughter now worried as she hasn’t bought any yet and I’m slowly filling the boot space! Now we entered the realm of the Chablis Premier Crus and Richard opened a Vau de Vey and a Fourchaume. Absolute nectar, both of them, each different in style with the Vau de Vey having a greater minerality than the deeper flavoured Fourchaume. All a question of personal taste again, but the garbage “fruit salad” approach of many professional wine writers just doesn’t interest us. These two Chablis Premier Cru are both full throttle, classy, clean-fresh, long finish highly flavoursome wines. Not even a hint of oak thank goodness, just Chardonnay in its purest form. Another case for me into the car: daughter looking more worried, I tell her to start flexing her own credit card before it’s too late!

Clearly we cannot recommend Richard and his Domaine des  Malandes highly enough, almost certainly the best all round wine tasting we have ever experienced over 30+ years of visits to vineyards in France. Go and try it for yourself as the first thing you do before unpacking your bags. Richard will welcome you for sure.