Tasted with Eléonore Moreau in Poilly-sur-Serein, 05 January 2021.
Domaine Eléonore Moreau
1 Route de Lichères
89310 Poilly-sur-Serein
Tel: +33 3 86 75 94 29
www.chablis-eleonoremoreau.fr
More reports for Domaine Eléonore Moreau
Since 2019 they have started their conversion to organic, hoping to be certified in 2022 – though the way of work hasn’t actually changed – only the paperwork! Another small extension to the facilities was finished in time for the last harvest, a covered area to receive the grapes during harvest time.
Eléonore on 2020:
“I was a little less involved as I had a baby, but fortunately it was quite an easy vintage in the vines – clean fruit of good quality and we made our volumes. A little less acidity so the balance is more in the direction of 18s than the 19s but fine balance and all the fermentations went well.”
Eléonore on 2019:
“No frost or hail – actually, yes to hail but it was anecdotic. Another year with not much pressure from maladies but the dryness made for some losses so we were about 25% down in volume but with lovely balance. Almost the last were bottled just in December. Some malos were quite slow. I used a much lower level of SO2 in this vintage and it worked out very well for us.”
With the help of an agent the domaine a new market in Seattle and a couple of others too including Japan – so commerce could certainly be better, but it could be a lot worse too. Still have some contracts in bulk and these are contracted prices so the current drop in contract pricing is not visible, but for future years it will be – much of the rest of the sales are on ‘standby’…
The wines…
Finely chiselled wines in 2019. Very classic and showing a little more salinity than most domaines.
Eléonore is using a mix of DIAM seals – 3, 5 and 10.
2019 Petit Chablis
There are 6 hectares of this. Machine harvested, fermented with a selected yeast then 8 months on lees.
The nose starts a little compact but grows in the glass with a mineral and floral style. Pretty width, finely mineral, lovely open and mouth-watering flavour. A little extra depth of finishing flavour too. Small finishing waves of flavour. Give this 6 months more patience, but excellent.
2019 Chablis
Elevage on lees 8 months like the last, but after assembly, this waits longer for bottling – this was done in December.’Vines all on a hillside, well exposed to the sun, limestone, limestone and rocks! I think less floral than some of the northern vineyards but with a great expression of minerality. 2 years is too young for our wine but a little more and it’s fine.’
A properly saline nose, minerality is super. Very classic. Rounder, a little more comfort, but growing a large wave of acid-framed flavour – today less clarity of flavour than the PC but with more breadth and width of finishing flavour – here a little floral complexity. That will be super.
‘This name could indicate a pilgrimage or a journey – but without the religious connotations,’ says Eléonore. Hand-harvested Petit Chablis, fermented only with natural yeast and a ‘biodynamic’ dose of sulfur. The bottled in December.
A wider nose, saline, less profound. Hmm, a melting style to this flavour – very juicy, growing in intensity. Wide and intense finishing. Ooh that’s a great PC!
Pérégrination Chablis – not yet bottled so not shown.
2019 Chablis 1er Côte de Jouen
1er a contract for 5 years, hand-harvested. Selected yeast, 10 months on lees. Eléonore would like to do longer elevage, but for this first vinification, it was bottled in December, though the wine passed for 3 months in barrels too.
The nose today is overtly oaked. Direct, saline, wide – very fine clarity of flavour and it’s intense too – this could be great but Id be waiting at least two years for the barrel flavour to offer more discretion. The finish impresses in its width and persistence. Excellent for sure.