Tasted in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne with Romain Bessin, 28 January 2021.
Domaine Bessin
11 rue des Cours
89800 La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne
Tel: +33 3 86 42 46 77
More reports for Domaine Jean-Claude et Romain Bessin
Romain on 2019:
“2019 was easy in the vines but again a year with frost, a little hail too in La Chapelle. Then, of course, poor flowering conditions – I often saw only 10 berries in a bunch – finally, the dryness of the summer, where we didn’t just see burnt grapes, we also saw burnt leaves! Dry and hot, more-so than in 2018 – we started to harvest 10 September. The result for us was 30 hl/ha in the grand and 1er crus, and more like 40 in the Chablis. We are probably more than one-third down in volume.”
The wines…
A great range in 2019 – no surprise!
The wines are waiting for another month before bottling. The wines not yet sulfured:
December bottling, the first of three bottlings for this.
Plenty of volume to this nose, becoming more airy with time in the glass. There’s a little gas, but here’s a pure and wide impression tasty, mineral, then an extra burst of flavour for the finish lime-style – thats a great Chablis.
2019 Chablis 1er Montmains
The neighbouring parcel to the domaine’s Forêts. All barrel elevage, none new, a melange of sizes.
A deeper nose, riper fruit but of energy too. Wide, extra energy, a little gold-accent to the fruit here, a fine tannin at the base, becoming more saline heading to the finish, similar lime-style fruit in this finish – so long – simply excellent…
Half wood, half tank elevage.
Here’s a nose that’s more dynamic with a great depth of aroma. Gas. Growing in width and still energetic, that’s a super wine. Peaking again in the finish, long, long. Great wine again.
Vines located in the heart of Fourchaume. Also from tank, but this mot fined yet – the elevage was 30% barrel and 70% tank.
A more open nose but still with some of the dynamics of the last wine. Extra mineral and with a mouth-watering intensity too. Extra vibrant and wide in the finish – another top wine, saline and zesty to the end. Great!
2019 Chablis 1er Fourchaume La Piece au Comte
This cuvée missing in 2016 and 2017. Vines also located in the heart of Fourchaume, here the cuvée name reflecting the once previous owner of the plot. Elevage the opposite of the last with just 30% in tank and 70% in barrel.
A wider and more concentrated nose, yellow fruited. Vibrant, riper, golden fruit, more layered, a suggestion, only, of barrel. Less explosive but still powerfully finishing with an extra floral complexity. This is excellent but I have a small preference for the more chiselled first Fourchaume this year.
40% barrel in this case.
Not the largest nose but the silkiest and suggesting a little richness to very pure fruit. Wide, mouth-filling, a wine of muscle, wiry muscle, there is some power here but never fat or richness. Extra-broad finishing, long, long and satisfying. Thats a super wine.