Tasted with Thomas Ventoura in Fontenay-près-Chablis, 25 January 2021.
Domaine Ventoura
3 Rue des Puits
89800 Fontenay-près-Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 19 39
www.chablis-ventoura.com
More reports for Domaine Ventoura
Thomas on 2019:
“2019 was a really easy year for us in the vines. We did experience just a little frost but not really of great significance. We did have a strong level of maturity but you don’t note it when you taste – I’ve 13.1° for the Petit Chablis up to 13.8° for the grand cru – but they are balanced and I’m happy with them.”
The wines…
Another super range from Thomas – much as I loved his 2018s, these are a notch higher in ‘Chablis-ness’ – only the Fourchaume needs to wake up a little!
All 19s are bottled but some not yet commercial as there are some 18s to finish. All are sealed with DIAM; DIAM3 for the Petit Chablis and DIAM5 “I never had a problem so I’ve no reason to change and I can also reduce the amount of sulfur I use at bottling time.”
Two parcels in Fontenay.
That’s got a fine width of freshness. Open, mouth-filling and growing with intensity – citrus mouth-watering flavour. A little cushion to aid your passage today – simply excellent PC beautifully pure – actually that finish is just so good – a great PC.
All tank elevage, same as the PC
Less width but here’s an equally energetic and impressive depth of aroma. Extra mouth-filling energy here, less cushioned too. This plays beautifully over the palate – so tasty – lots of agrume fruit – a baseline that has some steely minerality but never too overt. A super finish again. Really super – bravo again!
2019 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
A single parcel of 1 ha in Vaupulins. Fermentation in tank and then half of the elevage in 228-litre barrels. Bottled around harvest time.
A combination of fresh width and a depth that contains a little barrel. The barrel, like on the nose, is present but hardly excessive. There’s an extra concentration here and a less direct energy when compared to the last two wines. Yet, here is clarity of flavour and a certain, contemplative but insistent depth of flavour. The balance is good but here’s a very calm and composed wine today. Very good, with an excellent saline accent to its interesting finish.
And two contract wines:
2019 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
All tank fermentation and then barrel elevage – 500-litre barrels.
A more open freshness of aroma after the Fourchaume – perhaps a faint barrel-spice but the wood is hardly overt. Directly this wine offers up salinity and an extra level of energy and freshness. Softly mineral at the base – deliciously agrume-fruited – wide and with long waves of fine finishing flavour – excellent MdM – that’s so good! The more expressive of these two 1ers today…
2019 Chablis Les Preuses
Here everything done in barrels of 228-litres
Here’s a nose that grows and grows in the glass – becoming beautifully floral. A cushion to this texture, an accent of barrel too, but the energy is fine and mouth-watering – the texture is beautiful. Layered, baby wine – keep this at least 5 years before opening. The base wine here is excellent.