After a few memorable days in the Loire Valley, we made the drive across to Chablis.

The goal was simple: find a producer.

As a French wine importer, I think it's important to have Chablis in the portfolio. It's one of the most recognisable wine regions in France and when it's done well, it can be fantastic.

That said, Chablis is always a tricky region for me.

Compared to somewhere like Champagne or the Loire Valley, where producers can have dramatically different styles, the differences in Chablis often feel more subtle. That makes choosing the right producer much harder.

Over the course of the day we visited three domaines and, frustratingly, all three were very good.

Normally that's a great problem to have.

But when you're trying to make a decision, it actually makes things more difficult.

The wines were all impressive, the pricing was similar and the producers were all people we'd be happy to work with.

So rather than rushing a decision, we've taken samples from each visit and we'll revisit them later in the week with a blind tasting.

It's the fairest way to do it.

Once the labels are removed and the stories are stripped away, all that's left is the wine.

One of the most interesting topics that came up throughout the day was the impact of the 2024 vintage.

Producers here faced frost, hail and heavy rain, leading to dramatically reduced yields across the region.

Several growers told us they had little or no 2024 wine available, and some chose not to bottle certain wines at all.

The good news is that the 2025 vintage looks very promising.

We tasted several wines from tank and bottle and there was a real sense of optimism among the growers. Fresh, floral and expressive, the wines showed plenty of promise.

Beyond the wine, Chablis itself was a pleasant surprise.

It's a beautiful little town and much quieter than I expected.

The tourist season hasn't fully started yet, which gave the whole place a relaxed feel.

As I write this tonight, we still haven't chosen a producer.

And that's okay.

The goal isn't to come home with the most producers.

The goal is to come home with the right ones.

Tomorrow we head deeper into Burgundy, but for now the search for Chablis continues.

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