Burgundy

Laurent Tribut is an unassuming man. He married Marie-Clotilde Dauvissat, the sister of Vincent Dauvissat, undisputedly one of the best winemakers in Chablis.

Laurent, a good-natured man, learned his winemaking skills alongside his father-in-law René Dauvissat, where he worked for a decade. It was in the late 1980s that Laurent and Marie-Clotilde finally made the step to produce their own Chablis.  

Marie-Clotilde inherited land from her father in the village of Poinchy, a stone’s throw away, just north of the town of Chablis, where the couple could plant vines. With humble beginnings, Laurent and Marie-Clotilde harvested their first grapes in 1987 and made their wines in René Dauvissat’s cellar.

Since the very beginning, the 5-hectare domaine has been carefully run and the use of chemicals eschewed. Later, the vineyard holdings were completed with the purchase of parcels of Chablis-Villages and Chablis 1er Cru. 

Grapes are hand-picked and the wines are classically made and aged in oak barrels in the small underground cellar just outside the family’s house.

Solange, Adeline and Gabriel, three of their four children now work at the domaine. Solange, a lovely, charming, bright, and gentle lady, studied viticulture and winemaking in Beaune. Highly-skilled, she is fully in charge of the winemaking, under her father’s watchful eye. Together with her siblings, they shape wines that are classic and seductively textured.

Although Laurent Tribut has just recently retired, his signature style is clearly palpable in the wines, and he is often seen on his tractor, carefree and contented around the Chablisien vineyards.

The future of Domaine Laurent Tribut is in very capable and gifted hands. The wines are revealing greater finesse and refinement in recent years. They are pure, well-balanced, powerfully driven, and classically chiselled Chablis, with great ability to age. They show intensity, stature and energy.


Profile © Françoise and Seán Gilley

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