Colombier – 2015

27.2.2017billn

Tasted in Fontenay-Près-Chablis with Marion Mothe, daughter of Thierry, 16 January 2015.

Domaine du Colombier
42 Grand Rue
Fontenay-Près-Chablis, 89800
Tel: +33 3 86 42 15 04
www.chabliscolombier.com

Marion explains that the domaine is 54 hectares, run by 3 brothers; Thierry doing the commerce, Vincent, the vines and treatments aided by 10 tâcherons, plus Jean-Louis, who looks after the elevage and also the cereals planted by the domaine. Everything is commercialised by the domaine, no bulk sales, roughly 400,000 bottles per year – though not in 2016 of course!

The team normally sell some of their wine in salons, but will do less due to lack of wine, though most bottles are exported.

Marion on 2016:
“Both 2016 fermentations have gone well, though it’s a petit half-harvest – really only about 40% a normal volume, with one episode of frost, but 2 episodes of hail – so it was quite complicated. We couldn’t be so bio this year because of the mildew, we’re anyway lutte raisonée – we even saw a little oïdium too!”

The wines…

DIAM across the range – DIAM3 for the ‘smaller’ wines, DIAM5 for the mid-range and DIAM10 for the grand cru. Nice wines in 2015, but the villages vieilles vignes is easily outstanding.

2015 Petit Chablis
The produce of multiple parcels.
A hint of herb and salt. Nice in the mouth, supple good texture, mobile and tasty wine with a slight floral aspect. A little more herb and modest rigour in the finish. But long finishing and tasty.

2015 Chablis
40 hectares worth that needs 5-6 bottlings. A blend of left plus right bank vines plus old and young vines.
A little extra freshness, a little more aromatic sweetness too. Bigger, fuller, lovely mouth-watering flavour, edged with both sweet and salt. Rather classic – not quite stern, but a rigorous finishing minerality, then slowly softens in the finish. Again, very long, and very tasty fine Chablis.

2015 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
6,000 bottles from 3 parcels of vines ranging from more than 45 years old to over 60 years-old. Only tank elevage.
Great, bright, pure but certainly a tighter nose. Bigger, brighter, a little more texture but there’s very fine, indeed delicious balancing flavour and acidity. This is really lovely with a very modest fat to the texture. Delicious!

The 1ers were bottled in September:

2015 Chablis 1er Vaucoupin
From 3 small parcels – 2 ha worth in Chichée, more clay here that adds to the fruit and flowers, whereas Fourchaume is more limestone, ‘More alive, more dry, more reflective.’
Indeed a little tight but also a little floral. More weight, more intensity. But a fine and direct – an intense line of flavour – in the middle there’s some ripe fruit. Tasty…

2015 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
From 4 hectares of vines.
More open, wider, invitingly mineral. Hmm, more mouth-watering again, really tasty, really complex and changing. This is very lovely wine, gorgeously mouth-watering. The finishing minerality has rigour, it directly tells you how young it is – but that’s no bad thing. Super!

2015 Chablis Bougros
Not yet commercialising, as 2014 is the current year. 1.2 hectares in 3 parcels in the middle of William Fevre’s vines, including some old vines. Here with a little oak – 20% barrel of 1 year minimum age.
Wide and a little saline, mineral yet tight-ish but no direct oak. Hmm, good weight, really wide, balanced and quite a linear wine despite its weight and concentration. Really mineral and the oak can’t be seen today. Excellent. Wait a little for it to become more ‘comfortable’ to drink, but everything is here – super!

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