There’s Chablis and there there’s Chablis, and Regnard’s Grand Regnard has long been one of the best!  Calling this producer ‘venerable’ is an understatement, and their wines, dating back to the nineteenth century, are as classic and timeless as it gets.  After languishing through the first decades of the twentieth century, it was Baron Patrick de Ladoucette, owner of the equally iconic de Ladoucette estate in Pouilly-Fume, who rescued the property in 1984 after recognizing the stunning potential of Regnard’s holdings in seven of Chablis’ Grand Crus and five of its Premier Crus.  The first thing he did was to restore the cellar and, secondly, create a ‘super cuvee’ to augment their single-vineyard bottlings and village wines.  It was to be a reserve-level Chablis cuvee sourced from the best of the best of the Regnard holdings- the Grand Regnard- a wine that would show the absolute best the appellation of Chablis can produce. Made in the classical style, even the bottle he chose for the wine dates from the original glass bottles used in the Chablis region back in the seventeenth century!  Sure.  There’s Raveneau, the Dauvissats and Picq, but Renard belongs near the top of that list too! 
Our modest allocation of the 2022 Grand Regnard has arrived.  Boasting the optimal sort of balance between Chablis’ (now-warmer) climate and the flinty, siphoned-through-mineral chalky electric thrill one expects from a great, aged vineyard in this appellation, it’s a pretty incredible wine!  There’s fat, to be sure, but the wine’s natural acidity easily compensates leaving behind a richly complete wine that can drink with any single-vineyard bottling of Chablis- even the Grand Crus of some of the biggest names- at a fraction of the cost.  Skip the oysters here.  I know no one actually makes Coquille Saint Jacques anymore, but what a partner that would be!  Or a good ol’ steamed lobster?  In any event, Chablis fans should be rejoicing!