Chablis Domain Visits-Louis Michel, Pinson, and William Fèvre
Chablis, France
Tasted Wednesday, November 9, 2022 by drwine2001 with 213 views
Introduction
A busy morning of tasting in Chablis, where thankfully, it is still possible to book visits or even in some cases (Pinson) walk in unannounced and receive a warm welcome.
Flight 1 - Louis Michel (5 Notes)
A small sample size to be sure, but the 2018’s that were poured only reinforced my negative view of that vintage. Very good 2020’s but probably not a top vintage at this address.
Flight 2 - Pinson (4 Notes)
Again, too few wines tasted to draw many conclusions, but I think what you can expect here is inconsistency across the range and increasing amounts of oak as you move up the hierarchy. Some very good wines though.
Flight 3 - Fèvre (12 Notes)
An extraordinarily generous, extensive tasting which provided an opportunity to taste both 2019’s and 2020’s. I was impressed with the consistency and quality of these wines across vintages and across the whole range. It’s quite an achievement given the breadth of their holdings and how many different Chablis they make. Bravo!
Closing
By luck of the draw, I didn’t get to taste any 2021 wines during this visit. While there were plenty of really good wines amongst the 2019’s and 2020’s that I tasted, relatively few of them would satisfy the tastes of those who love leaner, classically styled Chablis. When so many of the wines have fruit notes of ripe apple and pear rather than green apple and citrus, I think you need to expect wines that sometimes lean more to the Côte de Beaune or more farther removed Chardonnay producing regions. I may be wrong, but the riper vintage wines even look a bit different from classic vintage wines, with more yellow and less of the distinctive green tinge. It was also interesting to see how individual crus compared to each other in these back to back vintages. Although my bias was that wines might be better structured and more ageworthy in 2019, it is not that straightforward, at least if this small sampling is more broadly indicative.
2020 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis
France, Burgundy, Chablis
Deep yellow. Ripe pear and apple. Good volume for AC wine, some iodine.
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2020 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Yellow. Fragrant flowers and ripe citrus. Medium weight. Less orchard fruit and more citrus. Lovely succulent feel. Good back end soil and acidity. Rich but restrained.
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2020 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Light yellow. More limestone and florality on the nose. Elegant weight with some glycerine, lemony, lots of soil. Excellent, delicate, well defined Grand Cru.
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2018 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montmains
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Yellow. Rich, exotic pineapple. Similar flavors, but not as big as it smells and the back end has livelier lemon and acidity. Ready to drink and little that says “Chablis”.
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2018 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Slightly deeper yellow. Less tropical than Montmains but still with an unusual smoky guava scent. Slightly lighter weight than the previous wine. Ripe orchard fruit with citric acidity and mild finishing grip. Not for extended aging. Another wine that is a pleasant sip but speaks more of Chardonnay than Chablis.
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