Tasted in Chablis with Virginie ‘Mimi’ Naudet, plus her daughter and guard-dog, 07 April 2022.
Domaine Moreau-Naudet
4 chemin de la Vallée de Valvan
89800 Chablis
Phone: +33 3 86 42 14 83
More reports with Domaine Moreau-Naudet
Virginie on 2020:
“20 was a bit like 19 – certainly for volume – 32 hl/ha so about 40% less than a normal vintage. But that’s still a little better than in 2019 when we had some frost and coulure due to the cold weather during flowering, then the dryness which really burned not just the grapes but the leaves too – so had only 29 hl/ha. The acidity and pH was very good in 2020, I’m very happy with the wines because we find a lively tension in them. Our Petit Chablis and Chablis have been in bottle since January, most of the rest will be done in July.”
The wines…
Never the easiest address to taste at, as Virginie takes a long view when it comes to elevage – but there are great wines to be found in this cellar!
The Petit Chablis and the Chablis are sealed with DIAM.
2020 Petit Chablis
From one parcel in Chichée – a mix of 50 and 20-year-old vines – almost 3 hectares worth, with almost 1 year of elevage. Racked together will bottle in less than a week – the first bottling of the 2020s.
A balanced concentration of ripe fruit. Broad, energetic, growing in complexity – slightly golden attractive fruit. Really mouth-watering. Lots of finishing concentration too. Super.
2020 Chablis
The largest single parcel is of 3.5 hectares – Prehy and Courgis the location of the vines.
A little extra freshness. Certainly in the mouth, where it’s wider, vibrant, partly due to very faint gas. Wide and delicious finishing – this is also lovely.
The old vines bottling. 2.5 ha from Pargues; 70-year-old vines that deliver between 10-20 hl/ha. This on fining right now.
More direct, more mineral. That’s got a fine crescendo of finishing flavour. Bravo – finishing clean and refreshing!
2020 Chablis 1er Vaillons
Have Epinottes, Roncières and Sécher – the latter from almost 70-year-old vines.
The most forward nose – quote vibrant. Mineral, direct, I love the dimensions of flavour in this wine. A small grain from the citrus bitters, long too this wine. That’s really excellent, beautifully complex wine.
2020 Chablis 1er Montmains
From ‘real’ Montmains, Vieux Moulot and Butteaux – No barrels used for this cuvée – will keep another 3 months like this – nothing added so far.
A more mineral width. Here is intensity, a grain of tannic texture, really a wave of flavour. That’s super !
That’s the best nose so far, fresh, forward, mineral – complete! Mouth-filling wine, a small grain to this texture. Growing larger over the palate – some nice, lip-smacking, bitters again. The most complete wine yet! Bravo!
2020 Chablis 1er Montée de Tonnerre
There’s a little reduction hidden in here making more aromatic depth. Wide, more saline – lots of complexity here – fine energy too. A wine that needs to come together more but the finish is wide and delicious.
2020 Chablis Valmur
0.6 ha, worked by horse. Tasted from a stainless-steel ‘barrel.’
That’s lovely – more vibrant and much more focused with a hint of noble reduction. Super – wide, intense, salivating wine – concentrated but no fat. There’s only a hint of gas that’s disturbing the texture today. Vibrant finishing, with the flavour moving in many directions. That’s going to be lovely – I think an excellent grand cru!