Tasted in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne with Antoine Bessin, 15 May 2024.
Domaine Bessin-Tremblay
11 rue des Cours
89800 La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne
Tel: +33 3 86 42 46 77
Domaine Instagram
More reports for Domaine Bessin-Tremblay
Antoine on recent vintages:
“I think that so far this year we’ve lost about 50% in Fourchaume and a full three hectares in the Chablis – there were some frost losses but we don’t even think about those after the hail. The volumes were reasonable in 2022 and 2023 – the Chablis and Chablis VV were bottled in November and the rest in March. We can certainly be satisfied with the quantity – 40-45 hl/ha in 2022 – and whilst, yes, it was a very early vintage for us – the end of August – we had the maturity we needed… It was nearly another 10 hl/ha in 2023 !!”
The wines…
What a great range – and I managed to buy a little Montmains for myself too !!
A silky and fresh width with a depth that’s faintly aniseed. Silky and direct, plus properly mineral flavours that ease over the palate but then burst into a finishing, quite mineral, energy in this clean and lovely finish. Almost a little calm today but potentially a great one it’s certainly an excellent one…
A more direct and intense aroma – there’s more depth here – slightly herbed too. Also silky, but for energy here, you don’t have to wait for the finish – it’s there from the start – far from contemplative and with a more complex mix of agrume flavours. That’s a beauty – clearly bravo!
Ooh !! Now that’s a nose! – Not super large but so gorgeously deep and attractive – yes – even a faint floral! Extra width, more chiselled, chalky textured – I simply love it. I sense a bit of finishing barrel flavour but also lots of salinity – I wonder if I can buy some(?), I bought the 2020 and still love it but never asked about 21 given the frost they had…
2022 Chablis 1er La Foret
More airy but more obviously floral too. Here is an overtly complex palate – finely divided complexity – I sense more than taste the effect of the barrel – and it will be ever less visible as you wait – probably completely gone in 18 months. The finish is intense, direct and mineral – a beauty again.
2022 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
Vines located in the heart of Fourchaume. Elevage was 30% barrel and 70% tank.
More sunshine in this yellow citrus – and that’s despite this being the first parcel harvested. Large in scale with an extra depth to the flavour – the texture too. Impressively intense in the finish – that’s just so classy – well done…
Narrower, more direct – here with a hint of aromatic barrel today. There’s an extra shimmer to the width of flavour here – more shimmering with energy and fluidity too – this is simply a great wine. A treat !!
Calm and silky are my first impressions – but this has some accents of fine white florals too. Extra scale but not rich or generous – beautifully sleek and no oak notes today, just layered classy flavour – sometimes one of the wines of the vintage for me – this is certainly one of the Valmurs of the vintage – bravo !!