Tasted in Chablis with Lucie Depuydt, 04 January 2022.
Maison J. Moreau & Fils
La Croix St Joseph
15 Route d’Auxerre
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 80 62 61 46
www.jmoreau-fils.com
More reports with J Moreau et Fils
Lucie on 2020-21:
“We managed to secure the amount of grapes and wine that we needed to get us through the big hole in 2021 availability. Actaully, the availablity is not so bad for the 1er and grand crus – which were better protected – and I think you have the chance, with good work, to get the value from those grapes. But with the current bulk prices of PC and Chablis – I don’t that’s not possible – so we didn’t buy much…”
The wines…
Day 2 of my tour – the pyrazines not completely absent – but, finally, some great wines too!
First up, we have an ‘organic’ 2019 Petit Chablis that’s not long been bottled – a wine with long elevage in old 450-litre barrels. The PC & Chablis sealed with the new version of Nomacorc:
Plenty of colour. A riper lemon that’s almost confit in style. Mouth-filling, great shape – almost a creamy accent to this. Long. That’s absolutely delicious in a fleshy style – fine finishing bitters. Deliciously great PC!
2020 Chablis
All stainless steel, no wood. This the only one of the 20s that is currently bottled – ‘We, generally, do a bit longer elevage.’
Bright, floral, yellow citrus – less ripe. Broad – mouth-filling, nice shape and really tasty the (potential) pyrazine here is additive as it’s such a low level – just bringing a little more complexity.
The rest of these wines probably not for bottling before May:
‘A favourite, partly because people don’t know it so well, but I love the smoky minerality and it keeps for so long.’ On every steep soil on the Kimmerigian rock, plus a part on the hard limestone on the plateau at the top.
A deep and nobly reductive nose, floral accented too. Ooh – that’s very attractive – open, beautifully, architecturally shaped. The flavour rolling over the palate so long – great wine!
2020 Chablis 1er Vaillons
‘Essentially old vines just 30% are younger’ – the vines are in Roncieres, Epinottes, Chatains and Vaillons. About 20% oak elevage, none new.
A wider nose, not overtly reductive but certainly a little tighter, faintly marzipan. More energetic complexity – more active complexity. Fine wide, clarity and minerlaity. Excellent wine, potentially with more improvement to come…
Butteaux and Montmains mixed. The Butteaux very old vines with small, millerandage grapes – the Montmains more like 40-year-old vines.
Aromatically, a more compact wine – but still with a width of finely divided, almost granular aromatic complexity and a suggestion of florals. Bright, fluid, mobile wine – that’s really a gorgeous thing. Bravo!
2020 Chablis 1er Fourchaune
A mix of Fourchaume proper and Côte de Fonteneys. Harvested at 5am to get as fresh as possible…
Broader, fine golden fruit. More direct but widening. Here, there are long, wide, waves as you approach the finish layering the fine, slightly contemplative flavour – fine clarity too.
Practically 1 hectare and always harvested quite late for the best maturity – ‘It always take a couple of years more in bottle to come around’
Rounder, extra floral, a little barrel cream too. 400 and 300-litre barrels for elevage. Vibrant energy here – concentration, again clarity – and that fluidity of flavour that I noted in the Montmains. Only a modest finishing impression from the barrel. That’s potentially a great Valmur – which you will be able to drink from the start but will get better and better for at least 10 years…
Lots of aromatic volume – more airy – I note the barrel elavage more to start but it’s becoming floral/pineapple too. Lots of mouth-filling scale again – more mouth-watering and juicy – more complex. The Valmur would certainly be my pick of these two today but give them 2 more years and this may start to forge ahead – the finish here is more about the wine and less about the barrel – I think it’s going to be a great one.