Tasted with Pascal Henry in Saint-Cyr-les-Colons, 12 January 2022.
Maison Henry
30 Chemin des Fossés
89800 Saint-Cyr-les-Colons
Tel: +33 3 86 41 44 87
www.maisonhenry.com
A domaine run by Pascal Henry and his wife Pascale.
Pascal’s parents began the exploitation and he’s been working here since 1986. There has been some bottling here for a number of years the volume of which has gradually grown. There is also some export, with clients in the US, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Denmark – but the bulk of their sales are in France. Today the largest part of their production is sold in bottle – about 2/3rds of the produce of their 16 hectares of vines in Chablis, Saint-Cyr and in Chitry. There are two commercial entities here: Domaine Pascal Henry for the cultivation of the vines and the wine-making plus Maison Henry who sells the wine.
Pascal on the last years:
“It’s really a ‘small’ third of our normal volume in 2021. 2020 was average in terms of quantity – like 2019 here – so it’s almost a whole harvest that’s been lost in 3 years – I’m hoping for another 2018 and soon! It’s going to be complicated in the next year or two…”
The wines…
A very engaging set of wines – and some of the Bourgognes are downright great for their level!
Normal cork (Portuguese) except for the aligoté wich is a cork amalgum:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté
Ooh – that’s a very attractive nose – appealing yellow citrus freshness and a little background perfume too. Nicely vibrant and mineral – there’s plenty of concentration but this wine remains light on its feet. That’s an excellent alig0té – it’s long too.
2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Wider, beautifully airy – that’s another super nose. More impact, more structure but nothing hard – really a mouthfilling wine with a lovely energy. Layered in the finish with slightly saline accents. Lovely wine…
2020 Chablis
Vines in the area of Chichée.
Clearly a more mineral nose – deeper too. Full, round, plenty of concentration. Certainly a mineral wine but with the extra padding and mouth-watering flavours of citrus. Simply delicious wine!
2020 Chablis 1er Vaillons
From true Vaillons
An extra freshness here – a little higher toned and more overtly mineral. Stricter – I like this strict – direct, growing in intensity. This is a wine that I’d choose to keep in the cellar for a couple of years before attacking. But again, very good wine and finishes with a perfumed flourish too – I really like!
Les reds:
A mix of gamay and pinot for this wine. All tank elevage – like the whites.
This is one of the raraer 2020 reds that seems free of the greens – modestly cushgioned, perfumed – that’s a lovely nose. There’s depth of flavour, energy and no small amount of structure here – that’s a proper mouthful of wine – honest and delicious – bravo!
2020 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
A bit more colour here. Much more open and forward – higher toned, yes a touch of pyrazine but at this tiny level it’s a very attractive extra complexity. Open, perfumed in the mouth – modestly mobile over the palate and finishing with an equally perfumed intensity. That’s really excellent red again!
A little deeper, darker fruit with a faint spritz of pyrazine – again, attractive at this level. Super flavour again – the perfume of the last with a bit more depth, spice and concentration to the flavours. That’s another completely delicious wine – bravo!
There’s crémant here too:
Crémant Blanc de Blanc
All chardonnay with a small dosage…
That’s a very promising nose of clarity and not a bit of oxidation. Round – of course with bubble-led energy – clean flavours that are mouth-watering and moreish, even a very faint finishing tannin. Another winner – delicious wine!