Tasted in Courgis with Thomas Pico, 25 January 2017 – and as tradition dictates, he’s looking cold and wearing his hat!
Domaine Pattes Loups
Grande rue Nicolas Droin
89800 Courgis
Tel: +33 3 86 41 46 38
www.pattes-loup.com
A tough vintage for Thomas:
Thomas on 2016:
“2016 delivered an average of 9 hl/ha – so about 20% of a normal vintage. I had to resource grapes from friends, and from all around France who are certified bio. Courgis’ main problem was the hail, but I also lost 2 hectares to the frost.”
Thomas on 2015:
“The 2015s we were hit by the hail, but I still made more wine with them than in 2014. The lower yields in 2014 were about 35 hl/ha – it was more like 42-45 hl/ha for the best in 2015.
“Still with what I have in 2016 I’ll have cut back sales of 2015, and some wines will get 30 months of elevage. I’m very happy as they are fresh and fine, I find it hard to taste the wines until after a year or so, but now I’m very happy with the result. I think the longer elevage will suit them very well. Acidity is important to me, it is the base of any wine, I’m happy that I have it in 2015.”
The wines…
A boutique operation, and given the yields there will be even less. The wines here are really more in a 2014 style than the vast majority of producers this year. Thank-you Thomas!
‘Also hailed in 2015, so it could have been better. 60 hl/ha is allowed but I usually make a little less than 40 hl/ha. No wood, the vines in multiple parcels.
Hmm, this is clean, fresh and has a modest but attractive vibration. Hmm, this is wide, fresh, chiselled Chablis, layered, and with great energy. Bravo – this is a great start to my day!
Again fresh, bright, a little more yellow fruited – super depth. More volume, more energy, really an extra mid-palate weight, a little oak. A super line of flavour I would say chiselled from the rock. Bravo!
2015 Chablis 1er Vaillons
Bought grapes, but In bio. Maybe will bottle before the next harvest, but will not commercialise before 2018.
A nose with more volume – freshness, yellow fruit and just a little more mineral. Wider, a little more depth of concentration, more salinity – really wide flavour, insinuating flavour. This is really excellent stuff.
Here the nose has less width, but clearly more depth, perhaps a subtle reduction too. A hint of gas, really a wine with waves of flavour, melting flavours – again another notch of salinity and a slowly broadening panorama of flavour. A super finish, possibly also with a hint of reduction, but a compelling minerality.
‘Sol magnifique’ – but needs harvesting late. Direct from barrel, not racked.
A little more spice to this nose. Ooh – narrow, direct, slowly opening and mouth-watering. Really intense, classic Chablis!