Tasted in Ligny-le-Châtel withJérôme Garnier, 04 January 2022.
Domaine Garnier & Fils
Chemin de Méré
89144 Ligny-le-Châtel
Tel: + 33 3 86 47 42 12
www.chablis-garnier.com
More reports with Domaine Garnier & Fils
Jérôme was coming towards the end of a 10-day quarantine period – so let me taste alone and my portrait image needed a telephoto! We shouted to each other across the room!
Jérôme on 2020:
“It will mainly be a May bottling – of course, except the first two which are bottled. In 2020 I’m very happy with the quality – the quantity is a more complicated question – we saw a great harvest coming but with the heatwave, in August we lost a lot, particularly in the clay soils we lost a lot – we had less than 40 hl/ha so it’s a ‘good’ 25% lower volume. It was more the dryness than the roasting of the grapes – we just lost juice. But the wines have a crystalline style. I find balance in general, practically a continuation of what we made in 2019. This is more my style than in 2014 or 2017 which have great structure but for my taste tend to austerity. I’m really happy with the wines.”
The wines…
What a simply outstanding range of wines. While so many domaines talk the talk with fine clarity and super mouth-watering, mineral wines, so few walk the walk with purity of flavour too – there are no green and herbed wines here, not even the red – just class! The first three whites are machine harvested but all the rest have manual harvests. One of the very best addresses for 2020s.
There’s a mix of DIAM and Nomacorc, for all the rest it’s Trescases cork, the grand crus sealed with NDtec corks:
Hmm, that’s lovely – almost a certain noble reduction – but on such a low level. Round but detailed, faintly tannic, layered in the middle only very slowly fading – slightly contemplative. Absolutely delicious and pure – no greens here. Bravo!
The largest part of the production, an assembly of all the parcels – about 19 hectares. Also bottled.
Also a beautiful nose – silky, a clarity of slightly golden fruit – that’s a great invitation. Larger scale in the mouth with a fine structure and a mouth-watering, almost juicy flavour. Long, almost brown sugar-inflected finishing flavour – again slightly contemplative at the end but with an extra zesty texture. Bravo!
All the following whites are not yet bottled:
2020 Chablis Cuvée Grain d’Orée
Parcel selection from Maligny, Côte de Charmois, just before Homme Mort on the flat plateau – – always the same parcel on this plateau but with very white limestone soil. A wine that’s always had its own personality – almost 2 years of elevage – so won’t bottle for a while yet – half barrel elevage but only for the first year, then all is assembled in tank with the lees.
A fresher, more mineral width for this nose. Some gas but here is a little extra energy and more actively juicy wine – very agrume in style with a super energy. Mobile, energetic and pure – love that!
Now the wines that follow are bought as grapes or in must and are all in tank:
6th vintage. Work with 2 vignerons, Troesmes and Côte de Savant – foudre and large-format barrels
Gorgeous – a vibration of floral and mineral energy here – such a great nose. Extra in the mouth too – just so juicily delicious – that’s the best (young!) thing I’ve put in my mouth this year – bravo!
2020 Chablis 1er Côte de Jouan
The 7th vintage for this wine. Foudres – also 25 hl
Rounder, faintly touched with some oak – but here’s still an aromatic clarity. Wider, more apparent weight and concentration than the Beauroy. The barrel still quite overt with this one but what a delicious wine all the same.
This and all the following are the contract wines.
A breadth of aroma – no barrel, more overt floral perfume too. Vibrant, deep and mineral, suggesting a reduction like the Beauroy – that’s a great wine again. Vibrant, complex, delicious – a more concentrated style – I still possibly prefer the Beauroy – but it’s very close…
2020 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
This and the following with elevage in Foudres. This still in its foudre – unracked.
A smaller nose but what an elegant of finely complex one – again with some flowers but more complex. Wide – really wide – and growing more intense too. The most impressive line of finishing flavour so far. Super wine – simply excellent.
2020 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
Also demi-muid elevage.
Also a width of aroma – but deeper – golden fruit of fine purity. Here is a very mineral wine in a slightly different register. Holding a similar length of finish to the Mont de Milieu but with extra width. That’s also a super wine.
2018 Chablis Vaudesir
Barrel sample
Like the Fourchaume here a deeper width of aroma – there’s more impression of concentration too. Larger scale again but very open and structural – no hard edges and definitely an extra depth and concentration – never losing balance. Keep this a while to add even more complexity – but what a fine and generous wine!
A change of aromatic shape; a little narrower but it’s deeper too, suggesting but not (over-)delivering something creamy from the barrel. Mouth-filling like the last but with extra bubbling energy which makes the wine juicier in style. Holding the most impressively persistent finish of all. Potentially a great one!
Le Red:
Bought and the only one bought after the vinification is finished, the extra 1 year of elevage is done here though.
Wow! Open, complex, energetic and perfumed – what a great young thing. Mouth-filling, really wide and insistently flavoured – holding a great line in the finish too. The tannin is there as a little textural dryness but with almost zero grain. Bravo Epineuil!