Tasted in Chablis with Thomas Labille, 27 January 2022.
Domaine du Chardonnay
Moulin du Pâtis
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 48 03
www.domaine-du-chardonnay.fr
More reports with Domaine du Chardonnay
Thomas on 2021 & 2020:
“2021 was the worst for us, much less than in 2016. 2020 was, of course, much easier and our harvest was already finished by the 4th of September. We started quite early with the hope to keep freshness – we still had some grilled grapes from the sun but we had a good harvest volume so were satisfied with that. I think choosing the balance of harvesting dates wasn’t easy – if you waited the degrees got higher. There was a little rain but it diluted things for some people.”
The wines…
Strating with a great Petit Chablis – which is normal for here – the wines that followed were a bit less satisfying at this stage of their elevage – showing a lot of sucrosity which made them a little less mouth-watering. But we finished with a super Vaugiraut, which is a new cuvée here having previously been blended in their Vosgros.
Whilst there had already been some bottlings of Petit Chablis and Chablis, all the wines I tasted, below, were tasted from tank:
Vines in Beines, Prehy and the plateau behind the Grand Crus – 8 months in stainless steel and a little enamel for elevage – ‘We have a big 9-hectare parcel, so we are looking for something easy to drink.’
Hmm – thats a nice mix of citrus – good complexity. Mouth-filling, slowly moving over the palate – complex, tasty, indeed delicious PC with a super finish – bravo!
2020 Chablis
Narrower, fresher, good aromatic purity, a little golden fruit. Broad, layered but still nicely fresh and mobile. Vibrant finishing – really Lovely, indeed excellent villages.
2020 Chablis Paradis
Vines in Chichée. Acacia barrels. About 10%
A broader nose, more a mix of lemon and lime citrus. Mouth-filling, more saline, a little rounder and warmer style in the middle flavours. Very good.
2020 Chablis 1er Vosgros
Just under 1 ha a mix of 2 parcels, one steep and south-facing, plus another small parcel in Vaugiraud. Vine ages between 5-30. Like a Roman amphitheatre. Like the others all stainless-steel elevage, but here also with about 10% barrel.
Ooh, a deeper register, mineral more than citrus. Wide, growing more intense, sweeter, but the minerality is to the fore. Small waves of finishing flavour that go very long. Good but a little sweet…
2020 Chablis 1er Montmains
3 sectors, but all Montmains, 3.85 hectares.
A calm width of aroma – a good invitation. More direct, more tension a little floral perfume. Wide and tasty wine – plenty. Of concentration but never dense. I like it a lot it’s very good.
2020 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
0.69 hectares. Small parcels so one of the smallest cuvées here – Some barrel elevage but older barrels than for the Vosgros.
A nicely vibrant nose. Mouth-filling with extra ripeness to this fruit, fine texture and also a decent tension and lovely texture. Also, a slightly sweet impression makes the wine less fresh and mouth-watering, despite a nice finishing salinity…
2020 Chablis 1er Vaillons
From Epinottes and Roncières and a tiny part of Lys – the latter a relatively small 0.16 ha from a total of 1 ha. Here a little longer elevage again.
Vibrant, wide – yes. A little gas but here is mouth-watering energy, layers of energetic, mouth-watering flavour. Delicious – and very good.
2020 Chablis 1er Les Lys
Some barrel elevage – older barrels. Not clear from its fining
A brighter and very energetic nose. Nice airy shape in the mouth, still concentrated in the middle. Layered, quite sweet finishing again, long too.
2020 Chablis 1er Vaugiraut
New here. 600-l barrels as some of the previous. 70% barrel elevage.
Wide, vibrant – really engaging. Extra fresh, direct, layered and concentrated – less sucrosity and a bit more minerality. Here I sense the barrels slightly. The most delicious and complete since the Petit Chablis – it’s excellent!