chablis 2013 – no reference points…

16.1.2015billn

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My hat of the day award!

I’m more than 75% of the way through visiting roughly 35 domaines for my January, Chablis Vintage 2013 Report (though my last half-dozen visits are not for another 10 days) and its a very particular vintage.

I won’t publish my report until the start of the second week of February, but given all the offers that I’ve seen, and more particularly some of the descriptions (exultations/exhortations to buy!) I’ve seen, I thought it timely to add just a few words – caveats if you like…

Except a few wise old owls who invoke very old vintages (ones never, ever, drunk by 99.9% of current buyers) the producers will tell you that they have no reference points for this vintage. Yields were low, but that doesn’t always mean concentration. The wines may be direct, fresh and mineral ‘Chablis’, or they may be round and rich with hints of botrytis and apricot – admittedly tasty chardonnay, but not really Chablis. It really depends on the address. Really!

It should be fine if you get to taste samples beforehand, but buying blind makes 2013 a much more complicated proposition than 07, 08, 09, 10 or 12 was – or indeed 14 will be (just for the record, I really don’t like 2/3rds of 11 Chablis, sorry). So be careful out there! On the positive side, apart from a couple of massively over-subscribed domaines, whose 2013s are anyway fine, (and who only spend their money on funny hats), Chablis is generally some of the easiest white burgundy to source – so you’ve time to wait for my report 😉

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

There is one response to “chablis 2013 – no reference points…”

  1. Mike de Lange17th January 2015 at 8:59 amPermalinkReply

    Dear Bill, if I were Vincent Dauvissat I would sue you for publishing that picture!!!

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