Tasted in Chablis with Mark Cameron, 11 January 2021.

Domaine Servin
20 Avenue d’Oberwesel
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 18 90 00
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Mark on 2019:
“2019 was a year that, in the end, was amazing. You can easily see why 2016 would have 70% less, but 2019? No disease, hardly because of the heat, there was a touch of frost, so it remains a surprise that practically everything was 30-50% down. But the flowering wasn’t that great so there were smaller grapes and some fewer. Chablis doesn’t historically have the concept of leaf-cover and because of that, there were losses through burnt (roast) grapes. The total acidities are down, yet the pHs are low – which doesn’t really make sense – like 2010 the skins were thick and there was not so much juice. Many are saying 2018 was rich- they are actually are knockouts now – they did taste a bit atypical young, but today there’s a bit more complexity, and I think they will keep improving for quite some time. I like the colour of the 2019s – you get a suggestion of the lower yields from the colour, only one wine nearly reached 14, another 13.5, but generally, the Chablis was 12.9-13.1, overall I think the alcohols were slightly higher in 2018 than in 2019.”

The wines…

Apart from one ambitiously oaked wine, here I found a range of wines that were excellent or even great. There’s much to covet from their range in 2019.

DIAM is used for the PC, all the rest are cork but half of the Chablis is also sealed with screw-cap:

2019 Chablis
A blend of many hectares – 12 – 90% from Pargues around Prehy in this cuvée. Multiple bottlings, this with a screw-cap seal.
Hmm that’s nicely vibrant, almost a touch of menthol. Hmm, this has width, fine citrus precision and a broad central minerality. A delicious agrume flavour here – ripples of equal tastiness in the finish. Another great ‘base’ wine.

Cork for all the following:

2019 Chablis 1er Forêts
0.37 ha – 25 yo vines – one of the younger, planted at almost 10k density – the older Chablis plantations were 5.6 k – all tank elevage – bottled.
The nose a little compact but with a fine, granular complexity. Mineral, medium volume and energy, wider in the finish, even a little licorice.

2019 Chablis 1er Montée de Tonnerre
13.6° pH 3.27 but low yields – 28 hl/ha
A little savoury note in the middle but surrounded by good citrus elements. Mouth-filling. Here is plenty of energy and a long, lingering mineral note. Starts excellently finishes well. Good wine.

2019 Chablis 1er Vaucoupin
The deepest nose so far, riper citrus – almost a little green citrus here. Richer but such balancing acidity and energy – super in the middle and finish, long too – that’s excellent.

2019 Chablis 1er Butteaux
13.95°! Really small grapes, pH 3.32, more barrel elevage here.
Pow! A statement from the barrel here. Gas still present. Easy over the palate – long but oaky – the shape resembles Chablis but nothing else for me – maybe in 5 years…

2019 Chablis Blanchots
All tank elevage, just bottled.
Nicely saline nose – there are not many wines like this in 2019 – the fruit quite hidden but some white flower complexity. Wide over the palate, depth of flavour, rather mineral in complexion, long finishing – a wine that will need plenty of time in your cellar but that’s a super starting material – simply excellent Blanchots.

2019 Chablis Les Preuses
30% old oak fermentations and elevage. 64-year-old vines.
No obvious oak – the nose a finer, less-impact version of the Blanchots. Mouth-filling, structured but still the flavour is easing over the palate – like a Preuses! A great finish. Another excellent grand cru.