Tasted in Chichée with Nathalie Oudin, 22 January 2024.
Domaine Oudin
5, rue du Pont
89800 Chichée
Tel: +33 3 86 42 44 29
www.domaineoudin.com/
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Nathalie on 2023:
“Yes we had some dried grapes from mildew but this says nothing about the quality of the wine – and we’d much rather have some mildew on the grapes than the leaves. We are just doing the first rackings now – all the fermentations went quite well – by the end of the year no less. The lees look good and there’s plenty of them.”
Nathalie on 2022:
“2022 was good and with a bit of VCI. I’ve never seen that, and also my father not – but in 2022 we started with a little frost in some parcels where the end buds were frosted and these are the fertile ones – normally – but the second buds still had 3 grape clusters per bud – never seen! I’ve been here since 2007 with a 47 hl/ha average yield. We had 65 in 2022 and 72 in 2023! We had a small amount of VCI in 2018 – that was the only time before 2022 and 2023. But two years of volume means that the vines are not in the best shape right now. On the positive side chardonnay accepts a larger volume and I don’t note any dilution but I’m still not that comfortable with some of the volumes we’ve made – I feel that I have a bit less of a connection with the wines – potentially. And it would be better for the vines if there had been a little less. And then we had to make space for the 2023s too! As for the wines, I think the terroir of Chichée helped us a lot to keep the freshness in the warm year – not so much the acidity – but the apparent freshness.”
The wines…
Really beautiful wines from 22 – it was only by chance that I actually bought some from 2021 !!
22s are already sold out! They are all sealed natural cork – from a real ‘family domaine’ from Spain:
2022 Chablis
Normally about 12 parcels are assembled here, and this cuvée would typically represent about 65% of the domaine’s production.
Not a super-wide nose but here’s a super-inviting nose – clean, fresh, faintly mineral. Mouth-filling, less of the rich, ripeness of many wines I’ve tasted – properly intense and slightly saline finishing. Classic and delicious – excellent wine – almost great for the vintage.
The longer elevage cuvée. Les Serres has a bit darker glass bottle – Nathalie explains, “That’s so you can tell which bottles are which when the labels have succumbed to the damp in your cellar!” This 2021 tasted after 2 years of elevage and 17 hl/ha across the whole domaine – the 22 has just been moved and the lees is in full suspension so we don’t taste – no problem – I bought this 😊
Airy fresh – agrumes but more orange fruit in this beautiful nose. Wow in the mouth – so juicy, complex, saline – great – I love it bravo!!
2022 Chablis 1er Vaugiraut
Two parcels; one of 65 years, a third in volume, and the other part, 35 years old.
Less incisive (than a 2021) but more floral – very attractively perfumed. Cool, a tiny reduction, but silky, mobile and mineral. Beautiful wine.
1949 planted. A third of the vines of the domaine are massale with and with an average of 50 years of age. ‘There’s not much soil here, just rock and some more rock.’
Much more floral high tones – slowly filling the glass but it’s the first ‘fix’ of aromas that is great! Large scale – yet more airy – there’s a seamless style to this wine – a harmony – that takes a little extra step – not incisive, not overtly structured or intense – just complete – bravo!