Tasted in Chablis with Fabien Moreau, 07 January 2016.
Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils
26 avenue d’Oberwesel
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 86 34
www.domainechristianmoreau.com
Fabien on 2015:
“2015 started earlier than expected! 4-5 days early was the hail in Clos and Blanchots – the Vaillons valley was hardly touched – Blanchots was bad as was the Clos des Hospices. We began our harvest 48 hours later – then we stopped for 4 days, waiting for the vines that hadn’t been hailed. Vaillons’ grapes almost doubled in size after the rain, the acidity went down but it was beneficial for ripening. The parcels were very heterogeneous this year.”
Fabien on 2014:
“A good harvest for typicité – nice balances – very different to 13 or 15. We saw low yields, though mainly due to millerandes from flowering – as much as 30% lower. We waited and there was 40mm of rain – we harvested later than usual and fortunately the rain de-blocked the grapes. At some times during elevage some wines were a little austere but now they are opening well.”
The wines…
About half are bottled so far. 100% DIAM since 2009 for (villages) Chablis, use across the rest of the range is slowly growing. DIAM5 for the Chablis and DIAM10 for the Vaillons.
I’ve come to have very high expectations when visiting this address – and all were fulfilled. You may happily buy these wines blind – there’s not really a better recommendation, I think!
2014 Chablis
Bottled in June. Represents 1.5 hectares of produce.
A round nose with some weight and a faint yellow fruit. If the nose isn’t that tempting, it’s worth taking the chance because this is lovely in the mouth – fresh, wide, modestly rich and fine textured. Super wine of fine clarity
There are 6 parcels of Vaillons here, and this is an assembly of 5 of them. Bottled just after the harvest in September.
Brighter, wide, fresh, green fruit, fresh lime and just a suggestion of salinity. Lovely bright, mouth-watering flavour. Wide and complex, growing intensity – really super!
Vines that are 80 years old – the ‘sixth’ parcel of Vaillons. There’s not much difference in the elevage between these two, except that some of the barrels are a little younger in this latter wine. The oldest vines planted by grandfather in 1933, a longer elevage and just a few newer barrels.
Deep, cushioned and complex – there’s oak here but it gives the impression you’re smelling a grand cru – nicely done. Also bright, wide and fresh with just a couple of millimetres more flesh. Fine and mineral, super width. More considered than the ‘bare’ cuvée, but just as good with its more steely finish. Bravo!
Bottled at the beginning of December – DIAM10 closure.
A deep, almost vibrant nose, accents of oak but subtle. Quite wide, beautifully intense and mouth-watering – here are waves of flavour and fine lime-inflected fruit flavour too. This holds a super and wide line of finishing flavour. Excellent!
Quite a high parcel, of just 0.1 ha – so all oak elevage, but old oak.
Here is a super aromatic complexity – really the best – more fruit than mineral, oak is barely perceptible. Extra minerality, extra intensity, extra everything after the Vaudesir – what a wine – really extra personality after the last too – bravo!
The following tasted from tank.:
2014 Chablis Valmur
Wide, more mineral, and agrume-style reduction. Faint gas, but direct, intensely mouth-watering flavour. Again excellent, flavour leaching from every corner of the mouth. Superb length… Really a honey!
Not the most powerful nose but the widest and most complex – fresh, lots of agrume. Gas, but it quickly fades to leave multi-dimensional, freshness and flavour complexity. Great wine – no un-essential textural references, a mineral mid-palate but sufficient sweetness that there’s nothing austere. Great wine again and super-long too.
The nose resembles the previous wine but also offers more depth of aroma today. Less gas, no less dimension, a hint more intensity, lots and lots of complexity – peas in a pod, but this is perhaps the sweeter – marginal – both are great! Just a little more weight and width of finishing flavour here!