Tasted with Julien Brocard in Préhy, 19 January 2017.
Jean-Marc Brocard
3, route de Chablis
89800 Préhy
Tel: +33 3 86 41 49 00
www.brocard.fr
Julien on 2016:
“Catastrophic.
“We were hailed pretty much 100%. The crus are not so bad, but the Chablis and Petit Chablis were largely lost. Really a vintage where we will be happy to turn the page!”
Julien on 2015:
“With 2015 we are happy. A nice vintage with harmonious wines of maturity and freshness. Yields not bad, but half is in bio so a little less than the Chablis average – but we are happy with what we made. We lost a little here and there from the hail just before harvest, but otherwise, not bad. Here we have both a strong core and good freshness, it’s very hard to get both in harmony, but in 2015 we have it.”
The wines…
Fine to really brilliant wines in 2015 for Julien Brocard – look out also for his superb range of biodynamic wine…
Mainly Courgis and Préhy. The best part of 100 hectares worth so a number of bottlings. All stainless-steel elevage, one racking at the end of fermentation but retaining all the lees – no batonnage.
Bright lemon yellow. Hmm. This is deep, fruited but also with a little vibration of interest. Wide, lemon, lime, freshness and a good intense line. Hmm – volume and great flavour. Bravo!
2015 Chablis Sainte Claire
Only from Préhy, all bio. About 50 ha worth, certified in bio.
Fresher, deeper, more mineral, more lime-fruited. Wider, more overtly mouth-watering. Again lime fruited but without any austerity. Long finishing, again, lime. Excellent!
All from Préhy, 65-80 year-old vines.
More depth, rounder below, good freshness and attractive, not sweet but really inviting all the same. Super width, direct, mouth-watering, more intensity, just a great line in the finish, fine, transparent green citrus – gorgeous!
2014 Chablis 1er Montmains
Just Montmains. A small part of elevage in foudres the rest in stainless steel. Just 10 days in bottle.
Like all these so far, a bright lemon yellow colour. A width and clean aromatic freshness. Like the first wine, with just a little extra padding and eventually extra mineral dimensions in the mid-palate and finish. This is super wine with something extra – and not just extra in the finish. Super!
The next two wines from tank:
2015 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
A little more complexity, delivered in fine points of aroma. Very wide again, just a suggestion of richness of texture – a more intense mineral impression in the mid-palate. A super, lip-smacking, mouth-watering finish – here it’s really great, the rest very, very good. Super wine!
100% foudres elevage.
Extra citrus and mineral – the nose suggests extra CO2 given its vivacity – lets see. Just a suggestion of gas, but really this is ultra citrus, ultra mineral, extra-mouth-watering. Just a fabulous line of flavour. Dynamic. Bravo!
Relatively tight for a grand cru, but lots of fresh, aromatic depth here – silky yellow if tight fruit above. Hmm – this has super volume and a really racy, but balanced freshness – a racehorse – I love the intensity of the finishing flavours. Really a baby that will only get better – this will be super. Bravo.
2015 Chablis Valmur
Here there’s an oak coating to the nose. But like the last, this has a fine of volume and energy, not richness – there is super mid-palate intensity and equally super length, a hint of phenolic/tannin too. Long and very attractive!
Domaine Julien Brocard:
“All in biodynamie, all Julien Brocard labelled. We started this conversion already in 1997, so was one of the very first in Chablis. The biggest difference is really the soil, it’s so much better now, it can retain and absorb rain like never before, it also absorbs the oak better too. The vines are really showing more inertia – where the others suddenly spurt after rain or after treatments, these retain a steady growth. The wines have more natural energy, and are mainly sold in well-known restaurants.”
2015 Chablis la Boissonneuse
Boissonneuse is the name of a parcel. This was the very first parcel done in biodynamics.
The nose is tighter, a little riper yellow fruit. Fuller, much more volume, richer, but with really super intensity and mouth-watering flavour. Strong, but sweet-edged minerality and just a super mouth-watering finish. Hmm – this is super.
A much larger nose, still of freshness – fine depth awaiting. Really big in the mouth, super mouth-watering, energy , dynamism, beautiful melting fresh flavour. Bravo – great wine!
2015 Chablis 1er Butteaux
Here is a deep and concentrated nose – not completely open at this stage – the fruit seeming rather tight. Round, good volume, more richness of flavour, less overtly dynamic – yet certainly still so. Excellent but for me I prefer the previous. Here the fruit is denser and riper despite great fresh balance. Really a nice floral dimension in the finish though!
Big volume – really a super-complex nose – a suggestion of oak, somewhere! Ripeness of fruit but very fresh in stance. Hmm – this is very classy, wide, almost glossy, intense and mouth-watering. Another growth of round fresh flavour in the finish. Yes! Bravo