2005 Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

Burghound

• By Allen Meadows
  4th Quarter, 2006, Issue #24, (See more on Burghound...)

  (Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru White) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  6/20/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (LE CLOS L. Moreau Chablis) Les Clos Dear Friends, The Moreau family continues to dominate in Les Clos and I still believe they are the highest scoring set of relatives in the history of the Wine Spectator, certainly for the Les Clos bottling. The scores over the years are tough to ignore - nobody really comes close, not Raveneau, Fevre or Dauvissat. In my experience, the Les Clos vineyard is as sought after as Chevalier or Batard. It may rank as the second or third most desirable white wine Grand Cru in Burgundy, except for Montrachet herself. Les Clos is requested 2-3 times more than any of the other Chablis Grand Cru's and for good reason - the wines from this storied parcel age into something very special. From one of the more pristine and enviable parcels of this Grand Cru, Domaine Moreau has taken the cake once again and this time it's Louis (Christian now works with some of the former J. Moreau parcels as well). With only a few dozen cases for the entire US market, this would be the ultimate blind wine in a head-to-head match up with the above mentioned houses a decade from now. Lauded by Andrew Jeffords, this new incarnation of the Moreau "dynasty" will ascend to the top rung in a hurry. In addition to the Les Clos Grand Cru, we also have a meager parcel of the rarely tasted or seen monopole sweet-spot "Clos de Hospices dans Les Clos" Grand Cru, owned by the Moreau family since the turn of the last century (as noted above) - the wine requires at least two hours in a decanter if consumed now to shed its residual style but unfolds to become an incredible bottle of elixir over the course of 24 hours - it should age for a number of years. The style of the house is not to not slather with new wood - they are mostly traditional and only in a very ripe year like 2003 would any new or second pass wood be used more than 10-20% and never for the 1er wines (typically only 10%-20% of the Le Clos sees any wood aging, the rest is done in stainless). They do not want wine that tastes of oak, they want wine that tastes of the vineyard and vintage with the longest potential for ageing. Both are VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and are going to surprise many down the road when the go head to head with the known names of Chablis. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the cellar: 2005 Domaine L. Moreau Chablis "Les Clos" EXTREMELY LIMITED 2004 Domaine L Moreau Chablis "Clos de Hospices dans Les Clos" (monopole) Beyond EXTREMELY LIMITED (whatever term that would be) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Burg7110 Burg7120