Tasted with Guillaume Vrignaud in Fontenay-près-Chablis, 05 November 2022 – and his bad back is better!
Domaine Guillaume Vrignaud
10 Rue de Beauvoir
89800 Fontenay-près-Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 15 69
www.domaine-vrignaud.com
More reports with Domaine Guillaume Vrignaud
Guillaume on 2021:
“We lost 40% but we can’t complain. The candles and the electric wires did their job. We have some decent degrees too and despite that, rapid fermentations.”
Guillaume on 2020:
“I like the wines. They definitely have some richness – a bit like the 2019s… At the end of their fermentations I was a bit worried – where was the wine? – the expression seemed to be missing but the flavour and flair grew and grew in elevage. We are organic and still had 55 hl/ha so I’m very happy with that… The main problem is having to replace vines – it’s about 6k vines per year at the moment – that’s a hectare!”
The wines…
Always delicious wines from Guillaume. The wines in tank were not showing at their best – they were pure but missing a bit of energy – unlike the bottled wines – I expect those sampled from tank to be more like the latter wines when finished.
DIAM since 2008 – not the whole range that year but the rest of the range quickly followed. He’s testing some DIAM Origine too. We start with three wines from tank”
2020 Chablis 1er Les Vaupulant
Elevage in 500-litre barrels and (70%) tank. ‘I like a little reduction but the wood brings the balancing oxygenation that I look for.’ This to bottle at the end of January
That’s a broad and attractive nose. Here is depth and concentration, finishing long whilst nicely mineral. I’m just looking for a bit more energy today.
2020 Chablis Les Champreaux
A single parcel of 2.68 hectares – though not all is bottled under this label. Barrel elevage (30%) – ‘if I leave this in tank it has a tendency to become reductive – this avoids that.’
More direct, fresh and almost saline. There seems more energy here, still a little richness but this is layered and very delicious finishing. It has a super finish.
2020 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
0.28 hectares worth, here only tank elevage. It’s an exchange for Fourchaume grapes – in this case not an organic vineyard.
More direct and very faintly spiced. Wide, layered and with lovely texture – there’s certainly a little fat here too but no surprise as it’s very concentrated.
And from bottle:
2020 Petit Chablis
On the Portlandian Plateau des Clos – 4.7 hectares. This an early bottling – May-21
A wide nose, quite saline. There’s good shape here and a growing intensity – round but with plenty of mouth-watering flavour. Slightly greener in the finish but long and very attractive. A good wine.
9 different parcels – all around Fontenay – all separate elevage. Many of types of soil. Plenty of massale selections too, representing 12 ha
A wider and instantly more attractive nose – saline with a little white flower complexity. Here is structure and personality – the flavour melting from all angles – becoming almost juicy but the chalky impression is strong with this one. That’s a great Chablis
There’s no Côte de Fontenay as it was assembled into the next wine:
2020 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
All tank elevage. Old vines never the rendement. This the last bottling – 15 December.
That’s lovely – it’s deep, almost a suggestion of noble reduction – that’s a very inviting nose. Mouth-filling with lots of energy – a very subtle framework of tannin here too. Juicy with a zesty finishing style. Simply excellent and there’ are more dimensions to the agrume-citrus in the finish too. Excellent wine.