Tasted in Lignorelles with Charles Hamelin & his Kelpie, 26 January 2023.
Domaine Hamelin
6, route de Bleigny
89800 Lignorelles
Tel: +33 3 86 47 54 60
www.domaine-hamelin.fr
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Charles on his last vintages:
“For both 2023 and 2022 I’m happy. 2023 might be a little more supple but we have some richness in both. I like the balance more in 2022 right now and the wines are very accessible so we can bottle a little earlier to make up for the the very short volumes of 2021. All the first bottlings have been done for 22 – the Vau Lignau yesterday and the Chablis since August. The elevage was slightly shorter as they tended to reduce on their lees. The market is okay – it slowed for a while with the Ukraine conflict – I think – but otherwise, it’s going okay. 70% of the domaine’s production is exported.”
The wines…
Only my second visit here – a difficult (2021) vintage and an easy (2022) vintage – a super result on both occasions!
2022 Petit Chablis
Only with tank elevage – all the malo completed – ‘all the vines are around Lignorelles there’s some clay here and the exposure to the sun is very good here.’
Good freshness with open, nicely wide, aromas – that’s lovely. Mouth-filling – some generosity. Finishing broad and quite complex. I’d like a bit more minerality but this is young, large-scaled, balanced and delicious.
2022 Chablis
Vines from Lignorelles and Beines – vines from 1970s and 1980s. All tank elevage.
Wider – nicely panoramic aromas here with just a hint of green citrus too – lovely. There’s energy but also concentration in the mouth – with a super finishing intensity. There’s generosity here but it’s not noteworthy given the energy and balance of the wine.
2022 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
70-year-old vines in this case but some 100-year-old vines in here too – a vineyard that was from the great-grandfather. This wine has some 500-litre barrel elevage, including a little that was new – but only 10% barrels and only 3 months in the barrels too.
A calmer, rounder nose. More incisive in the mouth but still with a small rounding of the edges of the structure. Lovely tension and a finish that very slowly widens and then widens further – that’s simply excellent wine!
2022 Chablis 1er Vauligneau
‘A closed valley where we have something of a special micro-climate – a blend of Kimmerigian and Portlandian with some white clay. I think the elegance allows someone who doesn’t know Chablis to enjoy from the start.’
Fine depth of aroma here – there’s evident fresh concentration to this mainly yellow citrus fruit – topped with wafts of floral notes. In the mouth, this has lots of volume and the intensity subtly increases in size – lovely, slowly mouth-watering – excellent wine!
2022 Chablis 1er Beauroy
From the Côte de Savant – planted in 85 and 87.
More open and clearly with a more mobile complexity. Cooler fruit on the palate – I like the shape of this very much. That’s my new favourite – Excellent wine again!
And for the road:
2021 Chablis 1er Beauroy
Hmm – a very different style – deep with crystalline citrus – almost a little mandarin. Hmm, melting, beautiful texture, and holding an impressive combination of width and length in the finish. This is lovely…