Domaine Jean-Claude Martin
Chablis | BurgundyDomaine Jean-Claude Martin is a family estate, led today by Jean-Claude’s children Claudia and Frédéric, who carry on his passion for authentic Chablis. Frédéric tends the family’s many older vines, ensuring low yields and healthy grapes each season. Claudia takes care of the cellar, the reception of each year’s harvest and the slow, meticulous process of fermentation and aging to ensure each bottle is a worthy carrier of the name Chablis.
Reviving the tradition of estate bottling in 2018, the family also now farms with a clear focus on sustainability—with cover crops and healthier soils yielding fresher, more expressive wines that still retain that unmistakable spark that is the hallmark of the greatest Chablis wines.
FARMING & WINEMAKING
The family tends some 35 acres of land on pure Kimmeridgian soils in the heart of the appellation, in the villages of Chablis, Courgis and Prehy. Estate founder Jean-Claude has long been a pioneer in sustainable farming methods, and now with his children, Claudia and Frédéric, heading up the estate, he continues to work on ways to keep their vineyards healthy and in balance. Organic fertilizers, better methods for managing erosion and water stress, as well as exploring ideas in agricultural homoeopathy, are just some of the ways the family is always advancing when it comes to sustainable farming.
The family harvests their premier cru vineyards by hand. Wines are fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks; some premier cru wines are fermented in a combination of French oak barrel and tank. No more than 20% new wood is used each vintage. Wine are not filtered.
Chablis
A pure Chablis wine to start your engines running! Complete with the vim and vigor of the region’s chalky soils, this bottle hails from vineyards near Chablis, Courgis and Prehy. Lemon zest, crushed chalk, the kiss of sea spray and a whole lot of energy from your very first sip.
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Chablis 1er Cru 'Montmains'
‘Montmains’ is an excellent premier cru wine, facing Chablis’ grand cru row across the valley and soaking up plenty of sun. Here the Martin family ferments and ages their wine half in French oak barrels, for more texture and body. A glorious pair with roasted chicken and the first morels of the season.
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Established: 2018
Winemaker: Claudia and Frédéric Martin (sister-brother team)
Region: France • Burgundy • Chablis
Vineyard size: 35 acres
PRACTICING SUSTAINABLE FARMING
