Tasted in Chablis with Amandine Marchive (for a time) & Guénolé Breteaudeau, 28 January 2022.

Domaine des Malandes
11 route d’Auxerre
89800 Chablis
Tel. +33 3 86 42 41 37
www.domainedesmalandes.com
More reports with Domaine Des Malandes

Guénolé on 2020:
“In 2020 we were frosted, a little – minus 5 or 6 and we lost a few buds in Cote de Lechets and Vau de Vey – so it was a small harvest in those sectors. But generally, we’re happy with the results – around 50 hl/ha. We’re in conversion to organic. 2020 was our second vintage of organic treatments for certification and another quite easy one – with the exception of oïdium which seems to be taking the place of mildew as our greatest worry. We had some big storms but this type of rain is easier to deal with than constant damp. We planned to harvest 25th August but thought the grapes not ripe so waited another week before starting 31 August and finished in about 9 days. 60mm of rain came at the end of the month and that brought a bit better balance to the very concentrated grapes – luckily quite cool in the mornings so the harvest was an enjoyable one. There was less juice than we expected, but we are very happy with the quality – I still think there was some maturity by concentration – it was down to the heat and the wind.”

The wines…

I found one or two classic, delicious wines. There are other delicious wines too but they were more a question of taste, because here’s a domaine that had, for my palate, an excess of sweetness in many cuvées – taking away some of the refreshing qualities that I look for.

The grand crus were the last bottled here and they were done just before Christmas – as every year, it seems:

2009! Melon
From Muscadet – Bought some as they had so little volume in 21. This wine with 12 years on lees in tank! It’s Guénolé’s father’s wine!
A young colour. A little musky almost a little chardonnay muscaté. Ripe, fresh, a little pineapple fruit style with a mix of richness and minerality. A so amazingly young!

2020 Petit Chablis
2 sectors, Beines and La Chapelle de Vaupelteigne
Nicely fresh and open. Supple, fresh a certain sweetness. Long and tasty sweet but floral.

2020 Chablis
The largest cuvée of the domaine. 15 hectares, three parcels in Prehy, another parcel near Montmains and Côte de Lechets. Practically all left bank
A more compact nose but faintly spiced and nicely pure. Energetic, quite ripe fruit and again with a lot of sweetness.

2020 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes Envers de Valmur
Right bank in the valley of Vaudesir. The vines planted by grandfather in 1967 – but due to their orientation classed as villages. Doing a lot of work here, ‘it’s almost like dentistry to save the vines from ESCA.’ Always with separate elevage, one part in barrel. This cuvée was previously called Tour du Roy – but now that house has been sold to someone else, so… This is the climat name. About 40% with barrel elevage.
A bit more depth of aroma – perhaps the barrel here – but opening with air. Supple, nicely concentrated – super depth to this. Also quite sweet but long, layered and delicious finishing perhaps a little caramel.

2020 Chablis 1er Côte de Léchet
Vines about 40 years old. ‘It’s very stony here, we prefer to preserve that with stainless-steel – almost 1.4 hectares that are part worked by horse – it doesn’t like the steep part but is happy on the flat part at the top!’ All tank – the only 1er like that.
Much more direct and saline nose. Fresh, direct, mineral – ove the energy here – super – proper Chablis! Simply an excellent wine.

2020 Chablis 1er Vau de Vey
Very steep vineyard near Beines – it doesn’t have the sun the whole day so is harvested a little later. A mix of hand and machine harvesting. A single block and the biggest 1er of Malandes with 40-year-old vines – ‘It was hard with the young vines as they were a bit too productive and we lost plenty to ESCA – now they have settled down and produce a proper rendement – steep here with 1.5 metre spacing – needs a tractor driver without fear!’ 40% oak but none new. Largest volume 1er here – around 3 steep hectares of vines.
A little extra ripeness – still shaded to lime – it’s a good invitation. Mouth-filling. Good open energetic flavour – framed with a little barrel today. Lovely mouth-watering finish – again with a little caramel today…

2020 Chablis 1er Montmains
Old vines – planted by grandfather – a massale selection like the Tour du Roy, approaching 65 years old. 30% barrel. ‘Usually, a serious wine when young.’
That’s really a lovely nose – fine -airy, pure – really lovely. Broad, concentrated and fresh – yet I’m still finding many of the wines a little sweet – this too.

2020 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
A small parcel since 2011– 0.25 ha – swapped some Vaudesir for this – but not the ownership! They simply work each other’s parcels! Always the first parcel to be harvested. It’s on high near the wood so doesn’t normally frost – though was decimated in 2016!
Good width but a more compact nose – it needs some air – it suggests but never quite delivers a little green. Incisive, growing rounder, perhaps a little pyrazine here but borderline – anyway more an extra complexity which is positive – not too sweet and with a fine finishing complexity.

2020 Chablis Vaudesir
Hand harvested from the ‘coté lunaire, not solaire’, needs harvesting 3 or 4 days later. 100% in barrel for 10 months followed by ss for a total of 13-14 months of elevage. Directly opposite Le Moutonne, so cooler, and now worked by horse.
Broader, wider, plenty of ripe but not too ripe fruit – very perfumed – an older person’s perfume. Vibrant, plenty of concentration but no loss of energy and mouth-watering style. A super density and persistence in this finish. That’s very good wine.

2020 Chablis Les Clos
All by hand and with the same elevage as the Vaudesir. Also low yielding – only 20 hl/ha in this vintage. It’s an old vine and it just didn’t produce very much in 2020.
A more airy, fresher width – a younger person’s perfume. Supple, concentrated but with energy too. There’s ripeness and generosity of flavour here. Long finishing, a little sweet but not as excessive (for me) as some of the previous wines. Lovely wine

2020 St.Bris
Bought grapes, vinified here. Always the same organically worked parcel. ‘I vinify this for drinking rather than keeping.’
Here is a wine with a little green but there’s also the classic menthol – mint-leaf – so which is which? Bright, pure, silky – yes the green is showing but this wine is really lovely in the mouth – pure, fluid and really still very delicious – I’d drink this with absolute pleasure this weekend!