Domaine Hervé Azo
In the late 1970's, Hervé Azo, originally from Brittany, took some time off from his fast-paced white collar job in the Parisian advertising business to pick grapes in Chablis during the vendanges. He never returned. After falling in love with the region, he began to look for vineyards, which at the time had not reached the astronomical value that have today. Now, he has an estate of approximately 12 hectares (26.5 acres) of which 9 hectares are located in the premier cru slopes around the village of Milly. The wines here are aged exclusively in stainless steel vats to retain the classic mineral qualities that the chardonnay grape attains in Chablis. After a couple of years in the bottle, however, the wines begin to blossom and flesh out. The nose takes on the buttery, yeasty nose which true connoisseurs look for from French Chardonnay. In fact historically, the wines from Chablis were never sold until they had been in the bottle for at least three years. Only then, when the wines lost their youthful, citrus qualities were they deemed suited for the market.
In 2004, the winery and vineyards were purchased by Jean-Marc Brocard. The estate has been kept intact, with the vineyards being transitioned to organic farming over the past few years. Every attempt has been made to maintain the original style of the house that the Azos spent some much time and effort creating.
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