I’ve loved the wines of Alice and Olivier De Moor since the first time I tried them. They have always seemed to me the real deal. They are creamy and autumn-evoking but also have a certain bright energy about them. Olivier believes they hark back to a previous era of Chablis, when the region's wines had a buttery, nutty character “similar to any Burgundy Chardonnay from low yields and reasonable ripeness”.
The De Moors are based in Courgis, a sleepy village nestled among the vine-clad hills of the Serein Valley. They have been making wine here since 1994 in a cellar that once belonged to Olivier’s grandfather (now updated).
They cultivate 10ha of vineyards spread between Chablis, Chitry and St Bris, along with Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey and Mont de Milieu. They also have a négociant gig, Vendangeur Masqué, through which they make Bourgogne and Chablis appellation wines, sometimes sourcing grapes from further afield from friendly connections like Pfifferling, Gramenon, Texier and L’Anglore.
Alice and Olivier have been making wine with spontaneous ferments – contrary to most wineries in Chablis – since 1997. Since 2000 they have practised extended élevages to improve the long-term stability of the wines, typically 12 to 18 months for the standard wines and up to two years for their top-level La Rosette and the 1ers Crus.
They also are careful not to manipulate the must too much during vinification, to avoid oxidation; racking is done by gravity where possible and the wines receive no bâtonnage, ageing on fine lees, untouched, until they are ready to bottle. Sulphur is kept to a minimum: none during vinification and a maximum of 25-30mg/l total.
In the 1990s, Alice and Olivier were early stars of the nascent natural wine scene, largely thanks to their US importer at the time. In 30 years, natural wine has moved from a niche interest to the mainstream. In the process, it has graded into something more equivocal. They are still in a different league from most of Chablis, but for them, in these dubious days of climate change, 'natural' is no longer such a useful marker with which to differentiate themselves.
"I no longer know what 'natural wine' means," Olivier says. "If making natural wine necessarily means without SO2, it's going to become very complicated. I've long preferred the idea of authentic wine, wine that reflects the place and the person."
That is precisely what De Moor wines give you: authenticity, a sense of place. It is something they have been doing consistently for three decades – and the wine world is a much richer place for it.