Domaine Pattes Loup has become one of the most compelling new voices in Chablis over the past two decades. Thomas Pico began in 2005 with a small inheritance of family vines that had long produced simple wines, and immediately pushed them in an entirely new direction. He cut yields, converted to organic farming in a region where this is rare and labor intensive, and focused on the high, steep hillsides around Courgis and Préhy where his grandfather planted selection massale chardonnay. Over the years he has expanded the estate to 15 hectares and built a reputation for Chablis that feels elemental, mineral driven and deeply expressive of place.
Pico farms with extreme care, using cover crops to curb erosion and feed soil life, and planting trees throughout the vineyards to increase biodiversity. Everything is harvested by hand with exacting sorting at the winery, and all fermentations rely on indigenous yeasts. Élèvage is long, never less than 36 months and often longer, in older barrels, concrete eggs and tank, followed by bottling without fining or filtration. It is a patient, transparent approach that gives the wines their signature density, tension and saline precision.
The 2020 Beauregard Mise Tardive comes from south facing, high altitude vines planted on classic Kimmeridgian marl and farmed with a level of care rarely seen in the region. Fermented in older oak and held back for an extended élévage, it gains a depth and textural resonance that is rare for premier cru Chablis. It delivers intensity without heaviness, saline cut without austerity and a layered, vinous complexity that displays patient, transparent winemaking. This is Chablis shaped by ambition, passion and time, and it shows.
