Tasted with Margaux Laroche, 10 March 2023.
Le Domaine d’Henri
Route d’Auxerre
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 40 65 17
ledomainedhenri.fr
More reports with Domaine d’Henri
Margaux on 2022:
“2022 is nice vintage – we thought it frosted much more seriously than we eventually found – we were sure we’d lost 30% but in the end, the areas that were frosted seemed to deliver the best maturity. The vines not limited by the frost, with higher volumes of fruit were only borderline ripe because of the dryness – so it was the lower yield areas had no problem.”
Margaux on 2021:
“We lost 85% of our Petit Chablis – maybe we pruned a little too early – there were hardly 1-2 clusters per vine and it was the only wine where we harvested by machine but the maturity was good and the grapes were clean. 11.6-11.8° natural but overall 25% of a normal vintage volume for us. In Fourchaume we thought we had a bit more but the grapes stayed quite small. There was a date around 25 September when the morning fog filled the valley until lunchtime – and when this starts, the botrytis also starts to grow. I had a horror of the grapes turning violet like in 2013 so I was quite early starting to harvest – 11.5-11.6° in the Chablis – but with nice aromatics. It was a vintage of much, much triage. The only wine that we felt the need to chaptalise didn’t turn out as we would like so was sold in bulk…”
The wines…
Some properly great wines chez d’Henri from 2021 – I’ve come to expect nothing less – well done!
For the bottling there are some wines with screw-cap, the rest are DIAM5 – some DIAM10 and even some DIAM30 – ‘though maybe the latter is a little too ‘tight’’ says Margaux. 2021 is the current commercial vintage here – but only for the Petit Chablis and the Chablis – it’s 2019 for the 1er crus. So everything is not quite sold out – ‘We like to keep a vintage in reserve, just in case.’ In fact the 1ers are not yet bottled but they will be, very soon:
2021 Petit Chablis
Bottled.
Vibrant and quite mineral even with a little rigour. In the mouth a fine agrume complexity which finishes deliciously! Impressively long finishing too!
All the following tasted from tank:
2021 Domaine Chablis St.Pierre
Parcels near Montee de Tonnerre and facing Blanchots – 3 terroirs. 40% amphora, 40% tank and the rest in barrels. One bottling in December – this for the second which will be done in 1 month
Focused, yellow citrus fruit of some intense depth. Broader, slightly more relaxed structure, no rigour in this case – always mouth-watering and deliciously complex – that’s a simply excellent villages wine, possibly even better than that!
In Beauroy, not easy to sell under this name. ‘Lots of court noué here so a lot of small grapes and therefore concentration – of sugar too – so a challenge to harvest with maturity but still acidity.’ South-facing on SO4 which is always early harvesting – this is normally ready a week before many other vines root – again this year it was our first harvested vineyard with 12.5°. The two fermentations were in tank then the elevage was in wood and amphora – equal quantities…
Direct and mineral with citrus complexities surrounding. Cool – broad, beautiful extra intensity and growing points of citrus acidity and complexity. I love – bravo!
2021 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
5.5 hectares! In 6 parcels aged between 80 and 30 years old. ‘We didn’t make the Héritage this year – we didn’t think the vintage supported ‘a grand cuvée de garde’’ This is 60% Home Mort a small amount of Vaupulent the rest all Fourchaume
A rounder nose – the freshness of citrus but this gives the impression that it needs a little aeration. Very fine in the mouth – this clarity is super and growing in both width and mouth-watering style. I sense but don’t really taste any barrel. Less ready but still a rewarding wine – super!
We don’t make this single parcel wine every year – they have 6 parcels in Fourchaume, this planted in 1970 on a steep section – there’s 2 hectares here, another – the next wine – 150 meteres away planted in 1937. Again demi-muids and amphora for elevage.
This nose has an inviting agrume but give a little energy to your swirling and a super, very fine and clean, orange, almost mandarin fruit is released. Extra width and freshness – faintly austere in its young intensity – call it strict. Top wine
2021 Chablis 1er Vaulorent
This parcel here since 2019 – also with court noué and missing a few vines. 0.4 ha – in the extreme south of Fourchaume vs the extreme north of the last – 5km of difference but could wear the same label. Again with an amphora and large-format barrels for elevage – bottled in December.
The vibrant agrume width that is characteristic of the domane’s wines in 2021 – very inviting. A more direct, bubbling with intensity – ooh that’s very, very good – such an excellent wine again. A haunting finish for this one!
2021 Petillant Naturel
‘Fermented dry, from a mix of parcels. Made in the methode ancestrale’
This nose has energy and a pretty sweetness – depth too. Ooh – that’s rather good – in fact it’s great competition for my usual Crémant from Collet. Absolutely delicious!