Tasted in Fontenay-près-Chablis with Nathalie Fèvre, pictured also with Gilles, 29 January 2021.
Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fèvre
Route de Chablis
89800 Fontenay-près-Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 18 94 47
www.nathalieetgillesfevre.com
More reports for Domaine Nathalie & Gilles Fèvre
Nathalie 2019:
“Hot! And that was after a dry winter. It was cold until 14 June – when it was still 8°C in Paris – by the 27 June it was 40°C. That was hard for the vines, unlike 2018 where the temperature gradually rose. It was a difficult situation. There was such heterogeneity as one vine had ripe grapes and the next vine the grapes were definitely not ripe. But it was a faster harvest in 2019, there was less to harvest of-course. We are down about 30% vs an average vintage, though not versus 2018! I’m very happy with how the wines have turned out – though we don’t have a lot – it’s like the 17s – I loved them but we just didn’t have enough and I feel the same in 2019 as we have 40% less than average. 2020 was classic, normal for us with about 50 hl/ha – conversion organic since 2019, we had a bit more frost in 2019 compared to 2020.”
The wines…
Always a joy to taste here. Clarity of flavour and incisive style are the hallmarks. Certainly a few wines worth searching for.
All the 2019 wines are bottled, some only just – 17-18 January. All are sealed with DIAM – even their larger-format bottles. For the fum, starting with:
2020 Petit Chablis
Bottling in one week.
That’s very fruity and forward. Nice shape in the mouth – plenty of volume, concentration too – yet open and mouth-watering. This finish is deliciously long – very fruit-forward this wine – but completely delicious.
A cooler, calmer nose, faintly saline. More sweeping and mineral today – wide, mouth-watering and completely delicious – that’s a great finish too. Bravo PC
2019 Chablis
A deeper nose, cool fruit a nice clean impression. Supple, concentrated but with intensity of flavour too. A slight dry tannin to finish too. That’s excellent.
Third vintage – even some larger formats in this vintage. A mix of parcels, the youngest vines from 1965, the oldest are from 1941-42 – and they have 7-8 hectares available for this, but choose to make much less, as they don’t want to reduce the quality of their ‘basic’ Chablis. Mainly it’s a large parcel from Gilles’ parents that exited the Chablisienne in 2016.
A broader nose – a really inviting nose – great. Nice structure but nothing austere, concentrated but with more mineral freshness. I think that’s really excellent, perhaps the potential for even more. Vibrant finishing – more impressive here than the Chablis.
2019 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
Tank elevage.
Not a broad nose but such a nicely vibrant one – a super clarity of citrus here. More mineral and lots of mouth-filling volume too. Very yellow-citrus, ripe but so fresh too. Slowly lingering with the yellow-citrus line – that’s a fine length…
2019 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
In the centre of the vineyard. 15% barrel, 228s, in 2019 there was less wine and it was 100% wood but old 500-litre barrels.
There’s oak in the aromatic mix here but still an airy style to this wine. Mouth-filling more clarity here despite the frame of more oaked flavour. Slowly mouth-watering. That’s a super finish – a wine that’s a little contemplative today but I like the purity very much.
More aromatic impact – more width and mineral energy too – a faint suggestion of barrel but almost nothing vs the last. Fuller – more impact, more overtly mineral and with a super texture too – that’s a great wine.
2019 Chablis 1er Vaulorent
That’s another nose of width and exciting energy – yes! A little gas here, an extra richness to. There’s concentration here too – a more considered wine than the MdT. A beautiful layered finish though – excellent.
2019 Chablis Les Preuses
Vines next to Willaim Fevre at the top of the slope.
Deep and fresh and concentrated but so, so, inviting. A touch of gas – wide, a grain of tannin – a freshness that mounts in the finish and holds so very well. An excellent Preuses…