Tasted in Chablis with Valérie Beaufumé, 11 January 2022.
Domaine Beaufumé
5 rue des Vignes
89800 Lignorelles
Tel: +33 3 86 47 56 32
www.chablis-beaufume.com
More reports with Domaine Beaufumé
Valérie on 2021:
“21 brought about 35 hl/ha – we are very morcellated and the frost didn’t touch all of the parcels of – but, of course, some. There was also hail at the end of May/start of June. It was all the valley in front of the house so it’s very hard to do the pruning for 2022. We had both oïdium and mildew in the same places – I’ve never seen that before – it’s usually one or the other! We had to treat more often this year and used powdered sulfur in August and I think this saved us a lot. Harvesting began about Saturday 18 September – not the degrees of the last few years and some vignerons wanted to harvest extra early too – but no ‘I want to make wine.’ After the vinifications I’m very happy, really happy.”
Valérie on 2020:
“Incredible! Flowering at the end of April – unbelievably early. There was a small amount of frost but it did very little here – we had correct volumes. We had lovely grapes and of course, we lost a little volume due to the dryness – maybe there’s a bit more concentration in 2019 but 2020 is more classic.”
The wines…
Always there’s sophistication at this address – and this year I think a great villages Chablis too!
DIAM-style seals. as usual, contrasting the first bottlings of the domaine’s cuvée with those waiting for the second mise(bottling):
From Les Crais on the plateau of Lignorelles here. This to be bottled in 2 days – the second and final bottling
Ooh – that’s a lovely and vibrant nose – Energetic citrus here. Open, elegant, but insinuating with good concentration – there’s a tension here and a completely delicious extra dimension of finishing flavour – long, long. That’s really a great villages.
Now bottled:
2020 Petit Chablis
From Chemin de Chablis just out of the village in front of the domaine. DIAM. Bottled in July – there was just one bottling for this cuvée
This starts a bit more compact, but aeration opens things out nicely – with a growing freshness of ripe fruit and a proper salinity. Nicely direct, more mineral and saline than fruit – but you have that too. That’s a fine PC – carafe if you’re drinking now – very lovely – the last notes a little floral too. The more time, the more excellent it will become!
2020 Chablis
DIAM type. This the first bottling, done, like the PC in July.
Like the PC this bottled wine likes to take time to open out in the glass – an easy top note that’s saline-inflected and a base that is only begrudgingly opening. Here is wide, more green-citrus in style but becoming more and more vibrant and beautifully mineral in the finish – that’s a grand and delicious finish – another candidate for decanting if you are opening now – but it’s already excellent.