Tasted in Courgis with Alice de Moor, 10 January 2019.
Alice & Olivier De Moor
4 rue Jacques Ferrand
89800 Courgis
Tel: +33 3 86 41 47 94
www.aetodemoor.fr
Alice on 2018:
“2018 was very good! But really, everything went well, and no real maladies problem except at St.Bris and Courgis where there were extra storms. But after was nice and warm, not much rain – really a dryness in July and August – we thought like everyone ‘nice grapes but not much juice’ – but we were wrong – but in a good way. We really made twice the volume a normal year. A maximum vintage yield for the first time in our lives! But the grapes were clean and ripe – the only thing was that we thought they may never start fermenting – but eventually! Malos were already done with still 30 grams of sugar left – then was colder and the fermentations calmed – but we have time!”
Alice on 2017:
“2017 was hard because all our chardonnays had some frost – it depended on the parcel whether it was 20, 30 or 80% losses – but the aligoté and the sauvignon were generous. It wasn’t so easy in the vines in the first part of the year because we got plenty of rain. Another quite early vintage. But very easy in the cuverie – the fermentations – but not the same ripeness as in 2018. We have some new 1er cru in 2017, but there was frost there too – overall we were about minus 30% for volume in the year. We harvested quite early – 7 September.”
The wines…
Out of the ordinary, characterful plus, importantly, delicious wines – and I bought some!
2017 Bourgogne Aligoté
Was bottled in October. ‘A wine that started austere and acid – I even considered selling to the négoce, but after the aromas of fermentation faded, and the summer on the lees, it was really not bad!’
Lots of depth and salinity too – tighter above. Oh – sleek, finely mineral, clarity – the Chablis of aligoté – really a very persistent finish.
A new label. Like in 2016 no volume so made a mélange of different cepages from the south to north: clairette (Rhone), chardonnay (Ardeche), chardonnay and sauvignon gris from near Charolais, and pinot blanc and riesling from Alsace, and the aligoté from here. Lots of small cuvées assembled at the end.
Fresh apple slowly developing – like a baked apple but with attractive freshness. There’s something of the apple comparison on the palate too – silky texture. Insinuating flavour – ooh – this is delicious. Bravo! And I bought some.
‘This was frosted 50% – I have to be happy with the result.’
Another attractive nose – a width of freshness here. Almost a suggestion of gas, then fine texture, minerality, melting flavour – ooh that’s just so good. No apple like the last but great, sweetly mineral – just a wonderful mouthful of wine! Bravo! I bought some of this too.
2017 La Vendangeur Masque, Bourgogne Blanc
Bottled in December but had to filter as there was some residual sugar – 4.5 grams. Vines that have been organic for 20 years on a hill overlooking l’Yonne – always very ripe.
A less forward nose, some sweetness and an inviting vibration. Certainly sweeter, more depth and weight to the concentration and weight – this is very tasty – but probably for the sugar! Long and sweet finishing.
2017 Chablis l’Humeur du Temp
A little more colour. Deeper aroma. Big in the mouth – an attack but also a meltingly sweet flavour – great dimensions of finishing flavour too – perhaps a touch of oak here in the complexity. But so long! Excellent!
“There would have been a second Chablis cuvée but in 2017 it only brought 11 hl/ha so was blended into the last. The vines were destroyed by hail in 2016 so we decided to try anti-hail nets – and you guessed it – they were frosted instead!”
2017 Chablis Côteaux de Rosette
Hmm – a more modest intensity of aroma – like the humeur but just a little finer. Bigger in the mouth – but that’s the small amount of CO2 – wide – fresh, tasty wine. Delicious. Really a great finish – fresh and persistent.
The following two wines are not yet bottled:
2017 Chablis 1er Vau de Vey
The first vintage for this wine – bought at the end of 2016. Very steep here. Vinified in demi-muids and will be bottled in about one more month. ‘For a long time this was very strict, but now it’s really starting to relax.’
More colour. Complex, savoury, fresh, still very attractive. Gas – quite a lot. Slowly relaxing over that palate – lovely mineral depth, layered flavour toasty golden fruit, complex. This is really a lovely thing. A super finishing, creamy but fresh – a big finishing wave of flavour – simply excellent.
2017 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
‘A vineyard rented since the end of 2016, 90 years old vines, a vineyard that was already organic. The owner was ill and couldn’t work the vines. Soil is very different here – it could be from a garden, brown soil, marne – we have a horse that does the ploughing. Still working on the new labels for these last two wines!’
Just a little more weight to this nose – complex, with a little crystallised fruit and cooked butter. Big in the mouth, fainter gas, super texture. A little richness but highlighted alround by fine halo of acidity. Modest weight of finish vs the last but very long, super-persistent.
2017 Sans Bruit
Sauvignon. It’s a later growing cepage, so not hit by the frost.
An attractive mintiness to this nose. Mouth-filling, mineral but no hard edges – a minerality of some rigour but not oppression. Quite a big weight of finishing flavour, slowly fading – nice to have such a delicious and different wine to finish.
