Tasted in Chichée with Nathalie Oudin, 03 January 2018.
Domaine Oudin
5, rue du Pont
89800 Chichée
Tel: +33 3 86 42 44 29
Last year Nathalie arrived in full ‘rain-gear’ from the vines – this year she was wearing a little lees as she’d been cleaning out tanks – authentic!
Nathalie on 2017:
“2017? Well, it was better than 2016! We manage 45 hl/ha which we are happy with. Compare that to the 12 hl/ha from our villages in 2016. 2011 was the last vintage of rendement with 60hl/ha. There was not too much frost in Chichée and those vines that were frosted in 2016 added a little more rendement in 2017. I think it’s a good vintage – the richness of 2015 but with a little more acidity.”
Nathalie on 2016:
“The wines are good – at least that’s something positive. We lost one-third from frost, we lost another third from hail, there was mildew and too much rain, then too much dryness – not to forget just a little oïdium and porriture. I really don’t know the last vintage that was so low yielding. Despite a lack of grapes, it was a very long harvest for us, searching out the grapes that remained and then waiting almost a dozen days for the very small grapes that otherwise might earlier have been discarded as verjus but after waiting they were ripe. Some vines gave only 2hl/ha. Fortunately there is some volume in 2017, I don’t know how it would have worked out if we had two consecutive years like this. But the wines are certainly very concentrated – no surprise from two clusters per vine. We’ve more acid than 2015 – we haven’t even considered the allocations yet – but we will sell just a little remaining 2015 at the same time.”
The wines…
The team have made super wines with the raw materials that were available – the wines are super, they are not surprisingly really concentrated and whilst they are still balanced, they would have benefited from a little more elegance. This will certainly improve with time though.
2016 Chablis
Normally about 12 parcels are assembled here, and this cuvée would represent about 65% of the domaine’s production – but there’s only 12 hl/ha this year. Not long in bottle.
Really a nose of concentrated depth. Faintly smoky, herby complexity. Ooh – intense, mineral. Depth of flavour, very slowly melting its flavour over the palate. A narrow line of long finishing, modestly complex flavour. There’s a lot of wine here for the label. Excellent!
The long elevage cuvée here, even with so little volume still decided to produce this.
A deeper nose, a little less width. Slowly adding some interesting extra dimensions of aroma – nice! More volume in the mouth – though a hint of gas. Concentrated but with extra freshness and tension – a melting style to the flavour. A subtle impression of reduction in the middle and really a much, much wider finishing complexity. Yes!
2016 Chablis 1er Vaugiraut
Two parcels; one of 65 years, a third in volume, and the other part, 35 years old. Maybe 16hl/ha was produced in the 1ers
Also a slightly smoky nose, deeper notes with green herbs – in a good way! More intense, but with a slight cushioning, really a long and melting flavour, faintly pointed with some salinity. Super-subtle impression of reduction in the mid-palate flavour. Really a delicious and impressive wine!
2016 Chablis 1er Vaucoupins
1949 planted. A third of the vines of the domaine are masalle with and average of 50 years of age.
Less smoke, a nice vibration to this nose. A more considered wine, slowly delivering layer after layer of flavour, slightly saline, with a super undertow of minerality. I like this very much – it’s my new favourite. Lovely and persistent too. Really an impressive finish – super.