The Béru family has owned the historical Château de Béru domain for 400 years. Until the philloxera crisis, when all the vines were uprooted, at the beginning of the 20th century, the domain used to rely solely on the wine for its revenues. It was only in 1987, that the Comte Éric de Béru, out of passion for wine, undertook to replant the entire vineyard, and in particular, the famous Clos Béru.
In Beaune, there is a terrific bookshop called Athenaeum that also hosts one of the city's better wine shops. A chat with the staff always results in new discoveries of what will be hot in the US several years later. This is how I discovered Château de Béru. The Béru estate belongs to a handful of small Chablis estates that have begun to invert the classic hierarchy of top Chablis domaines. Collectors and Chablis lovers who enjoy the wines of Pattes Loups (Thomas Pico), Moreau-Naudet, and Alice et Olivier de Moor will find themselves thrilled with the offer today. In particular, these share the density and extract of the Pattes Loups wines for me.
While Chablis's Grand Cru Les Clos enjoys superstar status as Chablis's most famous vineyard, visitors might be disappointed to find out that the "Clos", or walled-off vineyard, is no longer in existence. The distinct honor of owning the only historically intact Clos in Chablis is none other than Château de Béru. Their original Clos Béru monopole site was planted by monks in the 12th century and was continuously cultivated until phylloxera struck France in the late 1800s. It was only in 1987, that the Comte Éric de Béru, out of passion for wine, undertook to replant the entire vineyard, and in particular, the famous Clos Béru. When Athénaïs’ decided to return to the estate and restart making wine, she made the bold move to organic viticulture. In Chablis where traditional chemical usage is still commonplace, there are few producers taking this route. The estate has been organic since 2005, and converted to biodynamics in 2011. Today, all their vineyards are being managed this way.
The estate is less "natural" in flavor profile than the wines of Alice et Olivier de Moor, and in my mind is a modern classic with the Grand Cru levels of richness you encounter even at the mid-range bottlings. The wines have a distinctly weighty mouthfeel with sleek texture brightened by zippy salinity and oyster shell minerality. The level of acidity is startlingly bright for the weight of the wine, ensuring your glass will empty quickly.
93 Points Neal Martin, Vinous: "The 2020 Chablis Clos de Béru, aged in foudres and stainless steel (they are using more and more of the former), had been opened a day before my visit. It has a delectable bouquet with
yellow fruit, lanolin, struck flint and a touch of smoke. Very complex and quite arresting. The palate is well balanced with a vivacious, bell pepper tinged opening, touches of dried fig and sour lemon, it segues into a very harmonious and persistent finish. Fulfills all the promise I found in the barrel sample last year."
FIVE STAR WINE 90-93 Points Jasper Morris: "From a recent (ex Gangloff) barrel, the Clos Béru was a bit marked by the wood, but very classic on the palate. From older wood, here it is the wine which comes out immediately with its classical kimmeridgian nose, striking purity and intensity with a Chablisian classicism which outperforms the Béru style. Very long indeed. Drink from 2025-2030. Tasted Jul 2021."
