Henri Costal’s 2024 Vaillons takes Premier Cru Chablis down to its essentials: Chardonnay, limestone, exposure, and time. Vaillons sits on a south-facing slope on the left bank, rooted in Kimmeridgian soils rich with fossilized oyster shells. It is the kind of site that needs very little embellishment. Vaillons is woven directly into the Collet family story. In 1952, Henri Costal gave the family its first parcel in the cru when his daughter married a Collet son. Decades later, his great-grandson Romain Collet revived the Henri Costal name and historic label, reconnecting the wine to the vineyard that first tied the families together.  The winemaking keeps the focus squarely on the site. Native yeasts drive fermentation, and the 2024 completes malolactic in equal parts stainless steel, neutral barrel, and used demi-muid. That mix brings freshness, texture, and breadth without overwhelming the wine, while bottling without filtration or cold stabilization keeps the approach deliberately restrained. This is Vaillons given room to speak clearly.