We were delighted to welcome Jean-Francois Bordet of Domaine Seguinot-Bordet, Chablis, to the school on 20th October 2009. We would like to thank Fionnuala Harkin of wine merchants, Wines Direct www.winesdirect.ie for organizing this visit.
 Jean-Francois gave an excellent presentation and insight into the wines of Chablis, and we tasted a Chablis 2007 and Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2007 which was a fantastic opportunity for the students to see first hand what ‘terroir’ means, as both these wines are made exactly the same way, from the same vintage – the only difference was where the vines are located.
Jean-Francois Bordet is a young man with a great future in sight. He has recently taken over the reins of his grandfathers property, which dates from 1590, and is doing brilliantly. Jean-Francois places particular emphasis on obtaining the best fruit possible, through careful pruning, debudding and harvesting. Jean-Francois allows his wines to mature for three to five months on their lees, which maximizes the contact and provides a luscious style to the wines. His approach is clearly contemporary, but it delivers very stylish wines which fully express both the fruit and terroir. Vineyard: 16 Ha. 100% Chardonnay.
Â
‘Not only is this an unusually classy example of Ireland’s favourite Burgundy for the money; it strikes such a happy balance between ripe, honeyed apple and pear flavours, refreshing crispness and Chablis’ curiously captivating mineral tang that it’s also sure to have wide appeal’ Mary Dowey
Fionnuala Harkin, Jean-Francois Bordet, Domaine Seguinot Bordet, Chablis, Burgundy, France , Samuel Chantoiseau and Darina