Tasted on a hot day in Chablis with Vincent Tremblay, 16 January 2023.
Domaine Gérard Tremblay
12 Rue de Poinchy
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 40 98
www.chablis-tremblay.com
More reports with Domaine Gérard Tremblay
Newly married Vincent Tremblay was on good form the day I visited:
Vincent on 2022:
“A really good year – there was the famous worry of frost but I refused to protect the vines in March – though I would in May! Fortunately, there was no frost in May! There are a couple of early bottlings of 22s the Petit Chablis and Chablis but only initial bottlings – done in December – it’s not all done.”
Vincent on 2021:
“The left bank had no snow – it made a difference – we managed to make 65% of our normal harvest.”
The wines…
A super range of 2021s at this address.
We started with an early look at a couple of 2022s – in bottle:
2022 Petit Chablis
Ooh – that’s ultra fruity and attractive! Easy in the mouth, fine citrus – a little round but very easy to appreciate – and drink! Yum!
2022 Chablis
More breadth and a bit more power and depth to these aromas. More scale and a little more structure. This is more Chablis in style than the last – so for that reason alone my favourite of the two – but both are ultra-easy to enjoy already today!!! This is even a little floral perfumed in the finish. It’s completely delicious!
2021 Petit Chablis
Mainly vines near the 1er cru of Beauroy on a Portlandian base.
Nice breadth – not powerful but airy with some faint herb complexity. Generous and easy but delicious – that’s a lovely wine and a bit more classic today than how the 22 is currently showing – lovely.
2021 Chablis
There’s 20 ha of Chablis here – parents, Gérard and Hélène, bought in the 1970s. Vines at the bottom of Fourchaume and Beauroy, principally in the area of Beines.
This nose is more direct and more mineral, there’s almost a hint of rigour. Cool, fine shape, not too sweet, growing in mouth-watering stature – a bit of green citrus in this flavour – the finish is really super. Wait a year or 2 for the nose and first flavours to catch up with the great finish!
2021 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
Vines over 40 years old – but dotted around the place so not usually one parcel.
Also plenty of aromatic energy, direct and showing a little less rigour too. More mouth-filling again – this with more pronounced salinity – very fine, with classic middle and finishing flavours. A purists wine and it’s excellent!
2021 Chablis Cuvée Helene
The same base-wine as last but with barrel elevage – Vincent’s new wife – the same name as his mother.
Aromas that are strongly of the barrel. It sits well in the mouth – fuller but also with lots of complexity – of course the oak is forward here – I wouldn’t touch one for 2-3 years and that’s, perhaps, optimistic. But it’s another delicious wine and one with an extra silk to the texture.
2021 Chablis 1er Beauroy
A single parcel on the hill of Troesmes, replanted at the start of the 2000s. Just recently bottled a ‘little’ barrel elevage here – 10-15%
The oak barely perceptible – a little florality here. Wide but also intense – I really like the energy of this wine and it holds a fine, saline finish too. That’s another nicely classic wine!
2021 Chablis 1er Côte de Lechets
3 ha spread over 4 parcels.
A broad swathe of aromas – fresh, complex, even a little floral – that’s a beauty! More incisive, clean, and with extra citrus energy – there’s still salinity but here it’s subordinate to this citrus complexity. That’s a beauty. Also distinct in the finish. Simnply excellent wine.
2021 Chablis 1er Montmains
Two parces in Montmains proper
There’s some power to this aroma but held in a more compact form than the previous two wines. Broad, mouth-filling a three-way blend of citrus minerals and salinity – just what we want! Perhaps the most complete wine yet but in this case for waiting 2-3 years before attacking – you will enjoy the previous wines more while you wait.
2021 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
5 ha of this in 7 parcels – much from Vincent’s grandparents who originated from La Chapelle – half a hectare is in Homme Mort but the rest in Fourchaume proper.
Hmm – a more floral and mineral blend – that’s nice and very different. Hmm – super wine – mineral, still faintly saline – a wine of sweeping flavour. Excellent – a wine of beautiful finesse!
2021 Chablis 1er Fourchaume Vieilles-Vignes
Planted in 1951 by grandfather, half a hectare, right in the centre of Fourchaume
Deeper, lots of concentration, a more herbed complexity to this one. Supple, beautiful texture and width – a modest generosity. The finish rolling across the panorama with a faintly creamy accent – what a great finish! Super wine!
2021 Chablis Vaudesir
0.62 ha – Part barrel elevage.
The most direct of all these 21s, pure, mineral but accented with florals too. Wide, some power and concentration, lime accented – still direct, with a cushioned intensity. Such an impressive display of power yet accessibility too. You should wait, of course – but a clear step up versus the 1er crus – again, as it should be. A super range of 21s here.
And for the road:
2020 Vaudésir
Wider, larger, more finely complex – but less clarity than the 21 today. Supple again – wide – melting with really top flavour – not really maturity but the salinity and complexity are a little more visible today. A great finish that’s wider – a different shape – versus the 21. You could even say more opulent but it’s lovely!