Charly Nicolle – 2018

17.2.2020billn

Charly Nicolle, 2020Tasted in Fleys with Lucie Thieblemont (who ducked out of the photo) and Charly Nicolle, 14 January 2020.

Domaine Charly Nicolle
17, rue des Près Giraud
89800 Fleys
Tel: +33 3 86 42 80 08
www.chablis-charlynicolle.com

More reports for Domaine Charly Nicolle

Charly on the 2019:
This and 2018 were two years that were relatively simple in the vines versus 2016 and 2017 – clean and sunny, I love! We got to the harvest all looked great – I’m very happy with what we harvested – the grapes were was very aromatic and tasted great. Of-course the volume was down but I think the quality sufficiently compensates for that. Not all the malos are done – but mostly – and, as you can see, I’m very enthusiastic!

Charly on the 2018:
Lots of rain to start but in the end, it didn’t affect the quality of the grapes. it was easy in the vines – lots of sun – seemingly a solar vintage – but everyone had smiles on their faces of course! More grapes than normal, no question. At the start of the harvest, I was not completely enthusiastic as the grapes didn’t seem so aromatic, but in the end, they came through. The vintage has taken a while top open in bottle and the wines are much more Chablis than I thought would be the case in elevage. I harvested a little later than some because I was waiting for the aromatics, and of course, they took a little longer to ferment as the degrees were high – 14 or even more.

The wines…

A domaine that specialises in the classy and cool with some in-built elegance. The elegance is still there, as is the class – cool is a little less so, but that’s 2018…

All the range has had a bottling, but not everything is currently bottled:

2018 Petit Chablis
From plateau above Fleys and Chichée – No frost as on the summit of the plateau – it was the bottom of the hill that got hit. The only PC in Fleys, it’s surrounded by Chablis and was declassified from Chablis a few years ago – some red clay here. This and the Chablis sealed with DIAM.​
Pretty, inviting, maybe even a touch of apricot. Nice shape, structural but not too big, not too energetic, not too rich, but a little of all. A really fine line of finishing flavour – so delicious!

2018 Chablis ​Per Aspera
Usually about 12 hectares represented by this wine.
Fresh but deep – something of the shape of the aroma reminds me of 2008 yet the fruit is clearly riper. Rich but with a buoyant acidity. Ripe finishing but again with energy – less obviously Chablis – obviously delicious! Again a super finish.

2018 Chablis Ante MCMLXXX
These two are playing with me with their cuvée names! The name is Charly’s 1980 birthdate, but the (parcel selection) vines are older that than vintage.
Again the nose in shape reminds me of 2008s but with a different fruit. More driving acidity – lovely the vibrancy here – a wine to wait for, for the fruit to calm a little but the balance is excellent

2018 Chablis 1er Les Fourneaux
Two parcels overlooking the village of Fleys – directly opposite the winery with yellow clay soil – steep, south-facing, and very warm in the summer.
A more mineral dominated note – nice width and invitation to drink. Mineral, pure, complex – beautiful over the palate – bravo! So mouth-watering, so good, riper in the finish but still a great finish without extraneous fat.

2018 Chablis 1er Les Fourneaux Ante MCMLXXX
Again a parcel selection with vines of a minimum 40 years of age – ‘we don’t like writing Vieilles-Vignes’
Here the fruit is a little more forward – but fine and pure again. Beautiful in the mouth, more agrume fruit, lovely texture too. Almost a touch of tannin on the tip of the tongue. This is really excellent.

2018 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
Also direct south-facing with less clay than Fourneaux but with more limestone. The domaine’s oldest vines are here, ‘but we don’t have a separate VV cuvée, as it’s all old vines here – they are nearly all older than me!’ 55-68-years-old.
A nose of medium intensity but still a good invitation. This resembles the old-vines Fourneaux, a tiny anecdote of the barrels but overall more complex, bubbling with changes in flavour – delicious flavour once more. This is a wine with some power – you could drink now but to wait is recommended. Excellent.

2018 Vézelay
A purchase from a friend, made as if it were Chablis, just a little oak in elevage.
The nose is a little tight. Ooh, but in the mouth, this is vibrant, a little sweetly oaked today, good length too. Very tasty wine!

Cremant Brut Nature
Vines in Tonnerre – all pinot and all old vines too – pinot fin that made Bourgogne for a long time. Some chardonnay has been planted but too early to include in this. All made here, 2 years elevage – the last part all done in the cellar of the house to keep the wine separate from the Chablis. I trained there and it brings me some pleasure, says Charly. Pictured above next to one of his hand-operated gyropallets.
Hmm – the nose has good width and it’s deep but not an overtly blanc de noir aroma. Lots of mousse, fresh and actually very tasty – not the overt mirabelles of wines from (say) Simmonet. Very drinkable!

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