Tasted in Chablis with Virginie ‘Mimi’ Naudet, 13 January 2020.
Domaine Moreau-Naudet
4 chemin de la Vallée de Valvan
89800 Chablis
Phone: +33 3 86 42 14 83
More reports for Domaine Moreau-Naudet
Virginie on 2019:
“2019 when compared to 2018, which was good for volume and quantity, we see more alcohol – above 13° – but super acidity. It’s also a small volume harvest because everything was millerandes with very little juice – but very concentrated juice – 20 hl/ha, or-so, so practically a half harvest. The dryness has to be to blame in part too. ”
Virginie on 2018:
“2018 brought a really sympathetic result; the grapes were fine everywhere, even the places where the grapes don’t always impress but this year they did! It’s a nice big cuverie here, but we still had practically no place for the grapes. Once the place was full I picked up the phone to see who wanted to buy some grapes – still on the vines, even a little 1er cru! But together with 2019 I still don’t have two correct volume vintages, as not all the parcels delivered the rendement in 2018.
“Tasting from the press was hard; the wines were sweet, warm, powerful, too much! But in elevage the balance grew and grew… ”
The wines…
Wow – there’s a touch of richness to some of these wines, but also a deliciousness that is rarely paralleled! There’s nothing here that I wouldn’t be very happy to have in my cellar – it doesn’t get better than that!
The Petit Chablis and the Chablis are sealed with DIAM. Only the PC is in bottle – for 1 month – done just before the Christmas holiday. Virginie will fine the Chablis in January, but in February there are no flower days, so it will be March for the bottling. The 1er crus and Valmur will have at least another 6 months of elevage:
2018 Petit Chablis
From one parcel in Chichée – a mix of 50 and 20-year-old vines – almost 3 hectares worth, with almost 1 year of elevage.
A bright and fresh citrus nose – this very inviting. A little fat to the texture, but this is beautiful over the palate, sweetly mineral and ingraining with deliciousness – a richness but a tension too and so damn gorgeous! Super length too.
The largest single parcel is of 3.5 hectares – Prehy and Courgis the location of the vines.
Ooh – that’s got a lovely purity. A fainter richness and finer acidity and direction after the PC. Ooh – so delicious, bravo – so mouth-watering too.
2.5 ha from Pargues; 70-year-old vines that deliver between 10-20 hl/ha
A little green to this colour. A more complex citrus nose, faintly floral too. More mineral and wider, ingraining beautiful flavour – wow Chablis – bravo!
Have Epinottes, Roncières and Sécher – the latter from almost 70-year-old vines.
A hint of oak on this nose, deeper more concentrated fruit. But so mineral and again precise in the mouth, mouth-watering, almost juicy, the faint oak present, but it will probably be gone in 6-12 months – another great wine!
2018 Chablis 1er Montmains
From ‘real’ Montmains, Vieux Moulot and Butteaux
A nose with a little less volume, but a more obvious minerality. Yes, drive, agrumes, juicily mouth-watering again. More intense finishing too. Another super Montamains in 2018!
2018 Chablis 1er Forêts
A more vertical nose, deep, fresh mineral above, less wide. Supple, but wide, ingraining again, layered flavour. Über-delicious, mineral but currently playing second-fiddle to the fruit – another 6 months says Mimi!
2018 Chablis 1er Montée de Tonnerre
A little sweet touch of barrel aroma, then a floral note starts to rise. Even wider, the minerality more pronounced, like the Vaillons there’s an accent of oak. Beautiful finishing again!
2018 Chablis Valmur
0.6 ha, worked by horse
A little more colour. A nose that starts small, but grows and grows in the glass. Less overt fat, with width, concentration, minerality – vibrating with flavour. A touch of finishing salinity too – a very long finish. Ooh, that’s so good!
And to finish:
2010 Chablis 1er Vaillons
Some deeper colour, a nose thats growing with maturity, faintly leafy, darker notes – very inviting. Ooh, thats a super combination of steely freshness and minerality, but also a little richness that’s reminiscent of many of the 2018s tasted today. A little toffee in the finish and a beautiful peak of finishing flavour too!