Tasted in Chablis with Guillaume Michel, 09 March 2023.
Domaine Louis Michel
9 boulevard de Ferrières
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 88 55
www.louismicheletfils.com
More reports with Domaine Louis Michel
Guillaume on 2022:
“Ah, it’s better – it’s not the top for volume – we still had areas that were frosted, mainly our Petit Chablis, Butteaux and Vaillons but the Chablis was good and so was Monté de Tonnerre – and it usually frost in Montee de Tonnerre! We lit candles on the 3rd, 4th and 10th of April. The wines are currently in cold stabilization and they taste pretty good.”
Guillaume on 2021:
“Roughly a third of a normal harvest – we were bottling them in January and not all are still done. Catastrophic in volume but the wines are nicely classic with a bit more maturity – we started harvesting 21 September and with the GCs – that’s not classic – they were typically our last harvest but in this vintage, they were the first that were ready. Yes I’m really happy with my wines – it’s the accountant that’s not happy! Okay the allocations are a horror too.”
The wines…
Seriously great yet seriously serious wines chez Guillaume Michel in 2021. Have either patience or a carafe at the ready – maybe both! A top address!
All bar one cuvée are sealed with DIAM in 2021. ‘Only the Vaulorent isn’t DIAM in 2021 – 1 didn’t have the DIAMs in stock at bottling but it’s also a test, as the bottling was a bit earlier:’
From above and behind Valmur from 2 ha of vines. Not the worst – that was maybe Forets or Montmains a bit more for volumes…
Pure attractive – fine clarity – yes! Direct but not too much, juicy, delicious – a hint of mineral strictness. That’s a great finish for the label – great PC!
2021 Chablis
More aromatic depth, similar purity – less overt energy – but growing with a floral energy. More impact, then broadening over the palate – more material – more contemplative too. But then vibrantly kicking its way into the finishing complexity. Maybe I’d wait a year but there’s a sneakily fine finish here too.
A small mineral reduction here. Hmm – now what a wine – an icy cool minerality here – almost contempt for this taster – growing wider and more intense but retaining lots of disdain. What a wine – wait 2 years and maybe carafe too – I think it may be a great one…
2021 Chablis 1er Les Forêts
15k bottles in a ‘normal’ year – this year there’s 3k…
Narrow, deep, wonderful clarity again – the merest suggestion of reduction. Like the last a serious wine, majoring on stony minerality, the middle and finishing flavour just a little more accommodating than the Montmains. Long, maybe even a hint of licorice in these flavours too. A beauty!
All these parcels (except Butteaux VV) are of similar age of vines. This has similar soil to Montmains, but Montmains is cooler, Forêt with more stones
Here the wine is more open in the top notes – a slight smokiness evident too. A more fluid style – molten, cool rock mobilising over the palate. Slowly widening in the middle and finishing flavours. Still a little serious but the fluidity of flavours here auger very well – at least excellent wine – I think the potential for more.
2021 Chablis 1er Vaillons
Starting with some strictness but relaxing and becoming more perfumed – finely perfumed aromas. Direct, cool, lots of energy – properly mineral – ooh these wines are showing so young – but impressively young today. Super finishing – really some finesse here!
2021 Chablis 1er Vaulorent
An earlier bottling with a natural cork – also a climat that cooler with lots of clay.
More open and expressive nose. Direct, pure almost the fluidity of the Butteaux but more melting in style over the palate. So far, this and the PC are the wines to drink today – really and fine finishing width and intensity – less tension but larger – one of the best finishers here today.
More open and citrus in the top notes – becoming extra floral too – the most forward of aromatics – so far. Gorgeous in the mouth – not the widest but the wine of most fluid expression – clarity, faintly textured with silk – and a top finish – bravo!
The rest of these wines tasted from tank samples. The bottlings are planned for May-June when the first of 2022 will also be done – Petit CHablis and some Chablis:
The old vines here are a little lower on the hill and didn’t get the snow so there was a bit more volume here – or at least enough to fill a tank!
Pretty high tones but a narrow nose today. There’s some gas to take into account, there’s a little less volume too, but what a fine and bubbling core of complexity here. A gorgeous line of persistent finishing flavour – simply beautiful. Bravo!
Here is a broad nose – yellow citrus, a little perfume plus a suggestion of reduction. Gas again but a wonderful vibration to these complex flavours. There is some textural silk here too. Intense and holding even longer in this finish – a faint cream in this finish – I think this will be great too.
2021 Chablis Vaudesir
From the north-facing hillside which helps conserve the freshness in warm vintages, but needs later harvesting…
There’s extra depth and generosity in this width – growing perfumed. There’s a little extra here in all directions – of course! Like some of the earlier wines, this is far from a wine for drinking today but what a beautiful finishing flavour, long, perfumed, complex – sooo good!
2021 Chablis Les Grenouilles
More strict width of aroma – perhaps more lime citrus and certainly more mineral. Supple, broad – a more relaxed structure than the Vaudésir but structural nonetheless. The finish is a beauty – a wine that requires but will repay, your patience!
Today there’s less scale than the other grand crus but there’s more finesse, of yellow citrus and floral complexity. More fluidity of delivery, today there’s more accessible complexity too – less scale but more of everything else. The more accessible and ‘comforatble’ of the 3 GCs here today. Silken in the finish – almost a complete wine already! – ‘Yes, it’s also the smallest in volume’ quips Guillaume!