Laurent Tribut makes some of the most sought after and under the radar Chablis.

For years, Tribut's wines have been an insider's secret, snapped up by collectors before they saw the light of day.

Slowly word has gotten out (the wines are too compelling to remain a secret), but that's only made finding the wines more difficult. In 2016, the dramatically reduced yields made a tough situation into something painful. Production was down by 50% or more.

The story here is that Laurent Tribut married Marie-Clotilde Dauvissat, the daughter of René Dauvissat

. The Dauvissats purchased choice parcels to give their children to become winemakers, which is the land Laurent and Marie-Clotilde farm.

Tribut was welcomed with open arms to the Dauvissat winemaking process; the two domaines share everything from pickers to printers, and until very recently, Tribut made wines in Dauvissat's cellar.

It's impossible not to detect a kinship between the wines of Tribut and Dauvissat. They possess the same classically structured, deeply complex Chablis minerality, the same intense, sweeping notes of stone fruits, flowers and minerals.

The 2016 Beauroy is deeply concentrated with a mineral-laden and cool fruit profile. There's a textural imprint of stony minerality and saline streak. The wine is further animated by currents of citrus.

There's a lot of excitement about the 2016 Chablis vintage, but as we mentioned the quantities are tiny. The vintage threw everything from frost to hail to mildew and more at growers. For the Chablis obsessed, the wines of Laurent Tribut are legendary. We'll likely have to allocate. Please give us your ideal order and we'll try our best.

To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden

Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits