Tasted in Chemilly with Marianne, Marie-France and Guillaume Vilain, 19 January 2018.
Domaine de Chaude Ecuelle
35 Grande rue
89800 Chemilly-sur-Serein
Tel: +33 3 86 42 40 44
www.chaudeecuelle.com
And their last vintages?
“2017 was better than 2016 from the perspective of volume – we had a little frost but no hail. We saved our Montmains with candles – it needed three days (or nights!).
“So for us 2017 was a normal volume vintage, versus in 2016 when we had only quarter of the regular volume – so in 2016 we decided to keep everything for customers who buy in bottle. We lost as much to the hail as to the frost in 2016, but having decided not to commercialise anything in bulk we have 150,000 bottles in 2016 to commercialise ourselves, which is about normal. We’re happy with what we have, it was hard work but the wines are good.”
The wines…
All the wines are a little cold so perhaps that’s why they were all a little tight – the small glasses won’t have helped, either. But there are very good to excellent wines from this domaine in 2016.
No 2016 Petit Chablis…
2016 Chablis
Normally worth about 30 hectares. Vines planted by grandfather, all from the village of Chemilly – there are a high percent if old vines here.
Nice fresh width with a little floral and saline notes. Nice classic wine, fresh but with some concentration of flavour behind, wide in the middle with super direction, before melting in the finish. Wait another 6 months for this, but it’s lovely wine.
2016 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
3 hectares, roughly. About 2 ha with more than 60 years, some have been replanted. Grandfather’s vines again – planted in the 1950s, usually smaller grapes in this parcel too.
Fresh a little more intense and saline, less overtly floral. Flowers in the mouth though – wide, silky, a hint of richness but beautifully balanced – finishing with a little salinity. Lovely wine – really excellent!
2016 Chablis 1er Montmains
Relatively flat here. 0.85 ha
A little tighter nose. Fine, silky, concentrated, nice layers of flavour, this has super definition and fine flavour. Deliciously long. Excellent.
2016 Chablis 1er Vaillons
Sechets – 2 parcels, bought in 2007.
A fine but also quite tight nose. A super mouth-full of fresh flavour with a little agrume-fruit richness and a beautiful length of concentrated flavour. Excellent again!
O.75 ha. Planted 1947… on the hillside.
Slowly a little florality and salinity come through from the tight nose, even a little minerality. Layered, with richness of flavour – a very concentrated wine – this is more grand cru in style but with a slowly supporting balance of energy. Great flavour though a density that will require a little time to unfurl. The last flavours of white flowers, pure and mineral. Super wine – wait 2-3 years but it’s great stuff.
2013 Chablis 1er Montmains
Served blind. Round, but with clean, fresh direction. This is direct in the mouth too with nice fruit that has a saline accent. Classic and linear so I guess 2012 Montmains – it’s 2013 – that’s two years in a row they’ve surprised me with this wine – it’s very stable and very fine.