Pure Chablis- Only From France

A piece of stone had been placed in the middle of the table at the Gotham Bar and Grill in New York City where I was attending a Chablis tasting.  It looked like a piece of limestone with tiny pieces of white shells imbedded.  I guessed that it was a chunk of the famous soil of Chablis, which gives the wine its unique minerality.

The two speakers at the tasting were introduced as “Chablis Ambassadors” Jean-Francois Bordet, President of the Chablis Wine Board.  He is the 13th generation of his family to run the Séguinot-Bordet Winery, and Christian Moreau, a leading producer of Chablis and a man that I have heard speak over the years.  I have great respect for his knowledge of Chablis.  There were only 4 journalists at the lunch so we were able to really get to understand Chablis.

Christian Moreau

I asked Jean-Francois what was their attitude toward the rest of Burgundy and he said that they were the Corsica of Burgundy–meaning that they had a certain independent attitude.  As Rosemary George in her book The Wines of Chablis states, “Chablis is Chardonnay but not every Chardonnay is Chablis”

Jean-Francois Bordet

Domaine des Malandes Chablis 2010 The soil is rich Kimmeridgian, clay of the upper Jurassic geological period. The average age of the vines is 35 years and they are on a gentle slope at an altitude of 150 to 250 meters. Harvesting takes place by machine. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged 6 to 8 months in stainless steel tanks. Cold stabilization is at -5 degrees C for one week. The wine is bottled every month from April 2012 to March 15, 2013 . This is a wine with fresh fruit aromas and flavors, a hint of peaches and good minerality.  $20

Domaine Séguinot-Bordet Chablis Premier Cru “Fourchaume” 2011. The soil is Kimmeridgian limestone and the age of the vines is 30 to 45 years old with a south/ southwest exposure. The harvest is both manual and mechanical. Vinification is according to the domain’s own special quality charter. The wine spends 2 to 4 months on the lees. Aging takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. $29

Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Premier Cru “Vau de Vay” 2010. The soil is clay and limestone of the type and the vines are 35 years old. The harvest is manual due to the steep hillside pitch. Pneumatic pressing of the grapes and fermentation with indigenous yeast at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks. 100% of the wine undergoes malolatic fermentation. The wine is aged on the lees in stainless steel vats. The winery is in the process of becoming organic. $30

Both Chablis and Chablis Premier Cru are a very good value for the money.

Domaine Christian Moreau Pére et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, Clos des Hospices 2010. The soil is Kimmeridgian marl-calcium carbonate (upper Jurassic) and is rocky with white dense clay. The vines are 29 years old.  Harvesting is by hand, carried by small trailers which unload the grapes by vibration to avoid crushing. A sorting table is used to eliminate unripe or damaged grapes. Vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks and fermentation is with indigenous yeast. Aging is for 12 months in barrel–90% that are 1, 2, and 3 years of age- 10% in new and 1-year-old barrels. There is natural tartaric stabilization after 8 months of ageing. 100% of the wine goes under malolactic fermentation. $105

Chablis Grand Cru is a bigger, richer, rounder wine with more depth but even at $100 a bottle it is worth the money.

Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru 2009. The soil is chalky clay, marl and Marley limestone from the Kimmeridgan era. The vines are 40 years old. Harvesting is manual and the grapes are put into small cases, holding up to a maximum of 13kg to avoid compressing the grapes and bursting the berries. There is a systematic use of a sorting table.  They use the principle of gravity to avoid all pumping. There is a brief 1-½ to 2 hour pneumatic pressing to obtain a gentle separation of the solids and liquids of the grape. Very light static settling of the juice to preserve enough fine lees so that the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation can occur naturally. The must is then run into French oak barrels. Ageing takes place for 12-15 months, on fine lees, in French oak barrels. The stirring of the lees depends on the vintage. $99

http://wp.me/p8Gp4-t5  See”More Chablis Please” for more information on Chablis

“TASTES”

There are many wines that I would like to write about but unfortunately, it is not possible to get to all of them.  So I decided to write a brief post called “Tastes” from time to time highlighting some of the wines and food I have enjoyed.

And I can introduce my new wine group.  The League of Gentlemen, a wine group, I used to belong to and often wrote about no longer exists.  In its place is another group with no name, which meets once a month at restaurant SD 26 in NYC. There are a few members from the old group plus some new ones.  This is also a very low-key group, which happens to enjoy great wines.

 

Here are four French Wines that I enjoyed with lunch last Monday at SD26:

Chablis Premier Cru “La Forest” 2010 Vincent Dauvissat
This is one of my favorite Chablis’ and it can age.

Burgundy Volnay “ Les Premiets” 1985 Joseph Voillot This is a classic Burgundy at its peak but it will last for a number of years.Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1998  Domaine Peagu Made from 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah 4% Mourvèdre and 6% of other approved varieties.  This is a big wine drinking very well right now, with black fruit aromas and flavors and an undertone of spice.Hermitage 1985 Jean-Louis Chave Everyone agreed that this was the wine of the afternoon. This is a complex wine almost at its peak with aromas and flavors of deep red fruit with hints of cherry and strawberry and a touch of smoke.

 

Celebrating Thanksgiving All Weekend Long

  We like to have Thanksgiving lunch/dinner (Linner) at 4:00PM. This gives everyone the chance to eat and drink as much as they want and still not get home too stuffed too late. Our linner usually lasts for 5 or 6 hours. This year was no exception. Michele made gougeres to start, followed by a mushroom soup and of course turkey with a fennel, sausage and rice stuffing and many side dishes, followed by a cheese course and pumpkin pie for dessert.  We have been having Thanksgiving every year for several years together with Tom Maresca http://ubriaco.wordpress.com  and his wife Diane Darrow http://dianescookbooks.wordpress.com. Diane is a very good baker and brought baked bread and a pear tart.  Travis and Nicole, who were also there, brought wine.

Thanksgiving Wines

 Champagne Extra Brute NV “Les Boguines” La Closerie 100% Pinot Meunier. This is the first time I had Champagne that was 100% Pinot Meunier. Jerome Prevost, the winemaker, believes in intervening as little as possible. Therefore, the wine was not fined, filtered, or cold stabilized. This was one of the driest Champagnes that I have ever tasted with nice fruit and very good acidity. It had a long finish and a lingering aftertaste.

 Chablis Grand Cru “Les Preuses” 2000 Réne & Vincent Dauvissat. It has been my pleasure to have had the 1993 and 2007 “Les Clos” from the same producer. This was the first time I tasted the “Les Preuses”. The Les Preuses was not as big and round as the Les Clos. It had a more mineral, earthy and steely character to it which made it an excellent food wine. They are both great examples of Chablis grand cru.

 Barbaresco 1979 Podere del Pajoré Giovanni Moresco 100% Nebbiolo (rose sub -variety). This has always been one of my favorite Barbarescos and to my regret it was my last bottle. There was severe pruning that limited the size of the yields and the grapes were harvested late when they were totally ripe. The rose sub-variety is one that is reputed to produce the lightest Nebbiolo wines, but you could not tell it from this wine or the others I have had over the years from this producer. This is a big Barbaresco with all of the classic Nebbiolo aromas and flavors and it will age for a few more years. In 1979 Angelo Gaja become involved with the winery and took over the management of the vineyards. I believe Gaja brought the vineyards because he now makes a wine called “Sito Maresco”.

 Morey-Saint-Denis 1989 Domaine Dujac 100%  Pinot Noir. I have not had much experience with this producer but this was classic Burgundy at its best. A wise man once said there is Pinot Noir and then there is Burgundy.

 Just before Thanksgiving Michele showed me a very interesting article in the The New Yorker, November 28 2011, Letter From Rome entitled “The Renovation.” It was about an American Rita Jenrette that married Prince Nicoló and is now the Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi. They are now living in a villa just outside Rome. They did not mention Fiorano in the article but I am sure there is a relationship somewhere. After reading the article I had to serve a bottle of Fiorano for Thanksgiving.

 Fiorano 1992 Vino da Tavola Boncompagni Ludovisi  Alberigo Boncompagni Ludovisi, Principe di Venosa made with merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes.  Burton Anderson, in his landmark Italian wine book Vino, called Fiorano Rosso “the noblest Roman of them all”.  The Prince’s few acres of vines are planted along the Appian Way about 20 kilometers southwest of the center of Rome and almost right next to Roman’s second airport, Ciampino. It is the best cabernet/merlot blend made it Italy and one of the best in the world!  In my opinion–and I am in the minority here–one of the best places in the world to grow Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is in Lazio close to Rome.

 The 1970 Chianti Classic Badia Coltibuono was not good and I replaced it with the Grato Grati declassified Rufina Vino Rosso Toscano da Tavola 1982 Grato Grati 100% Sangiovese.  It is a wine that I really like and you can tell by the number of times that I serve it, it is my favorite Chianti. The wine is aged in large Slavonian oak barrels. It is declassified Chianti Rufina. I have been drinking this wine for a number of years now. The vintages I have had over the last few years have been the 1979, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1995 and 1997 (the last three are labeled Chianti Rufina) and have never found them wanting. To my great regret they are no longer available in NYC.

 On Friday Michele and I went with friends to Legend an excellent Chinese restaurant in NYC and had great food. I was in the mood for a Martini and gave the waitress exact instructions on how to make it for me. The bartender, a woman in a man’s hat, followed them to the letter and it was a perfect Martini. It fact it was so good I had another.

Saturday we stayed home and a friend gave us a bottle of Barbaresco 1997 Cantina Vignaioli  Elvio Pertinance.(cooperative) 100% Nebbiolo, to try. The grapes for the Barbaresco come from the hills of Treiso. It is a blend of Nebbiolo grapes grown on the vineyards belonging to each of the cooperative members. The selected grapes are crushed immediately on their arrival at the winery. The must ferments on the skins at a controlled temperature for at least 15 days. Following malolatic fermentation and a brief stay in stainless steel the wine is aged in casks of Slovenian oak for over one year prior to bottling. This Barbaresco is a very approachable wine with good fruit and soft tannins but will last for a few more years.

On Sunday we had friends over for lunch and we drank Barolo Riserva “Monprivato” 1993 Giuseppe Mascarella. The vineyard is in the village of Castiglione Falletto. There is traditional style floating of the cap fermentation for 20 to 25 days. The wine is matured in Slavonian oak barrels of medium size for about 38 months. The wine is bottles four years following the vintage.

 Barolo 1983 Cantine di Marchesi di Barolo 100% Nebbiolo the grapes came from different vineyards. The soil is of medium consistency with a substantial amount of quartze sand. Soft pressing of the hand harvested grapes and fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks.  Skin maceration is for 8 days and the wine is racked when the fermentation has been completed. This is for the current release. For the 1983 the skin contact would have been between 25 and 30 days. The wine is aged for the most part in Slavonian oak casks of 30-120 hectoliters for about two years. It is kept in bottle for another 12 months before it is released.

 Both 1983 and 1993 were not considered to be great vintages. These two wines however were showing very well and even the1983 had a few years left.  They both had classic Nebbiolo aromas and flavors.

Put A Cork In It !

Sometimes I think that wine producers do not make the best wine they can but make the wine which is easiest to make and easiest to sell. It is easier to make Chianti if you add international grapes and put it in barriques.  In California, it is easier to make a wine with 15% alcohol.  Just before writing this article I read a very interesting post by Alice Feiring entitled Death of French Wine (as we know it) www.alicefeiring.com.   The French are also a part of this and  Alice calls it a struggle between “real wine vs. fake wine.”

 Which brings me to the subject of this article, Cork versus Alternate Closures, in particular screw caps. Are screw caps used because they make the wine better or are they used because they are easier, less expensive, and do not allow the wine develop in the bottle so that it always tastes as if it has been just bottled?

  The Wine Media Guild did a Cork vs. Alternate Closures tasting last month. A few years ago they did a similar tasting and one of our members, Jonathan Levine, had the foresight to take and save the unopened bottles so that we could do the tasting again. I missed it the first time as I was in Italy so I was looking forward to this one.

Michel Laroche

 The tasting sheet for the event had the wine with the cork first followed by the wine with the screw cap. The speaker, Michel Laroche of Domaine Laroche, said it should be the other way around so we changed the order; I will get back to the reason for this later.

 Domaine Laroche is a name very well known in Chablis. They are both a négociant house and an estate. Michel runs the family business and has been responsible for its development. He introduced the screw cap into Chablis and for a while in the US you could get his Chablis with a cork or a screw cap. Now I believe all of his Chablis that comes to the US has a screw cap. In France there is more resistance to the screw cap but he believes that they will come around, especially the restaurants.

 The big advantage to the screw cap is that the wine in the bottle will “never” be “corked” and have that wet newspaper and cardboard smell and taste that does not go away. This is caused by 2, 4, 6, Trichloroanisole, better known simply as TCA. Wine can be infected with TCA that is in the barrels and in the cellar including the walls and ceiling, but TCA in the cork seems to get all the blame.  It is a big problem and at least 10-15% of all wines are corked. The other advantages are that the screw cap is easier to open and the wine will not become oxidized.

 But what is given up in return is that every bottle tastes exactly the same as when it left the winery. Christian Moreau, a well known producer of Chablis, said at a recent Chablis seminar that I attended “… Chablis will taste different from vintage to vintage and even bottle to bottle”. This is true for vintage to vintage and for wines with a cork, but not those with a screw cap. With a screw cap, the bottles will all taste the same–too young and too fresh–just the way they left the winery.

  Is this what Mr. Laroche intended for his wines?  Wines that will not develop in the bottle and not have those nuances and character that give a wine its personality.

Does older wine with a cork become oxidized?  If you drink older wine that has a cork in it does it mean you must like oxidized wine? I do not think so.  All of the Chablis at the tasting were from the 2002 vintage and not one of them had even a hint of oxidation.  At a dinner some months ago I had the Rene & Vincent Dauvissat 1993 Chablis Les Clos and it was showing no signs of oxidation.

The wines of Domaine Laroche

 As I tasted through the wines in every case I liked the wine with the cork better- I even tried them blind and still liked the wines with the cork better. The difference was slight with the regular Chablis but became more pronounced in the premier cru and grand cru wines. There was a very big difference in the grand cru Les Blanchots screw cap and cork and the biggest difference in the grand cru Les Clos screw cap and cork. These two wines had developed into classic Chablis thanks to the cork.  One bottle of the les Blanchots was corked – I do not know if Mr. Laroche put it in to prove a point? (At the WMG we always have two bottles of each wine.)

  In fact when we voted for which wines we liked better screw cap or cork, even Mr. Laroche voted for the Les Clos with the cork. Mr. Laroche rightly changed the order of the wines because the screw cap would be lighter and fresher and less developed than the one with the cork. If the wine with the cork was tasted first, being more developed, it would overwhelm the screw cap bottle.

 I have tasted a number of wines with screw caps, synthetic corks, and with glass stoppers in the last few years. Mr. Laroche believes that a wine with the synthetic cork will pick up the odors from it if the wine is kept for a period of time. With a screw cap, you can have s similar problem, the wine coming into contact with a “metallic substance.”   Mr. Laroche said that if a “natural substance” is used between the cap and the wine, this problem will not occur.  As for a glass stopper I once asked an Italian winemaker why he stopped using them and he said that he was afraid the glass might crack and some might fall in the bottle. If TCA can be present in the barrels and in the cellar walls and ceiling, is it then possible to get a corked wine with a screw cap?

 My conclusion is that if a wine is meant to taste fresh and youthful just as it did when it was bottled then it might be alright to use another type of closure, the best of which I believe is a screw cap. This would leave the best cork for those wines that are meant to age and develop their character and personality in the bottle. Wine is a living thing and needs to develop in the bottle. Does anyone really what to drink a wine right off the bottling line?

Members of the WMG tasting the wines

 Here is how the WMG members voted on the wines.

 Wine Media Guild of NY                                                    October 5, 2011

Corkvs. Alternate Closures Part II

Speaker: Michel Laroche, Domaine Laroche

 

 

Number = number of preference votes in 2011

BOLD indicates the wine was the preferred bottle in 2007.

** indicates “strongly preferred” In 2007

 

WHITE WINES

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

14 Chandon Prestige Etoile Brut, MV Cork

5 Chandon Prestige Etoile Brut, MV   Crown Cap 

1 No preference

 I voted for the cork on all three of the Chardon sparkling wines.

9 Chandon Prestige Etoile Rose, MV  Cork

5 Chandon Prestige Etoile Rose, MV Crown Cap

2 No preference

 10 Domaine Laroche Chablis Saint Martin 2002  Cork  

12 Domaine Laroche Chablis Saint Martin 2002  Screw Cap ** 

1 No preference

 4 Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru les Vaudevey 2002  Cork  

17 Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru les Vaudevey 2002  Screw Cap **

1 No preference

 16 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru les Blanchots 2002 Cork   8 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru les Blanchots 2002 Screw Cap 

1 No preference

 16 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2002  Cork

5 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2002  Screw Cap 

1 No preference

 On the wines listed below I found only a very slight difference

4 Jean-Claude Boisset Bourgogne Chardonnay 2005  Cork 

9 Jean-Claude Boisset Bourgogne Chardonnay 2005  Screw Cap 

4 No preference

 4 Jean-Claude Boisset Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2005  Cork 

7 Jean-Claude Boisset Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2005  Screw Cap

4 No preference

 RED WINES

 

9 Jean-Claude Boisset Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2005  Cork **

2 Jean-Claude Boisset Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2005  Screw Cap

3 No preference

 7 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Tri County 2002  Cork

7 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Tri County 2002 Diam Cork **

1 No preference

More Chablis, Please

Whenever we drink Chablis, Michele says we should drink it more often.  At a League of Gentlemen dinner about a year ago we drank the René and Vincent Dauvissat 1993 Grand Cru “Les Clos” and for me it was the wine of the evening. For dinner at our apartment a few weeks ago friends brought the 2007 “Les Cos” and Michele turned to me and said “…why don’t we drink Chablis more often?”

 Then I received an invitation to a Chablis Seminar and Tasting at Bouley Test Kitchen.

The seminar was being given by Mr. Christian Moreau and Jean-Marc Beocard, both well know producers of Chablis. I was being attacked by Chablis on all sides.

 Linda Lawry of the International Wine Center started the seminar off by making a few remarks about Chablis. One of the points that she made was that the producers in this region say that they do not make Chardonnay, they make Chablis, and Chablis is on the opposite end of the spectrum from over-oaked Chardonnay. Linda also noted that 60% of Chablis is exported. This she felt was because it is such a well known and well received wine. She then introduced the two principal speakers; Christian Moreau and Jean-Marc Beocard. From the beginning they made it quite clear that they were here not representing their wines, but the region of Chablis and therefore none of their wines would be part of the tasting.

 Mr. Moreau was the first to speak and said that Chablis may not be for everyone. This is because the producers make Chablis for themselves and not for the market. They do not make Chablis for the American market, Japanese market, etc. or to please the critics.

Mr. Moreau making a point

 True Chablis, continued Mr. Moreau, is unique because of the place, the soil, the microclimate and the way it is made. The climate and soil here are very different from the rest of Burgundy. The soil in Chablis is limestone and chalky clay called Kimmeridgean and consists of fragments of fossilized shells, including a large amount of oyster shells, deposited by the sea that once covered the area. This many account for the mineral character of Chablis.

  Mr. Moreau said that Chablis never tastes the same from vintage to vintage and bottle to bottle. He believes that Chablis is an excellent food wine and that a grand cru Chablis goes very well with cheese. I had this experience a few weeks ago and I could not agree more. We had the 2007 “Les Clos” with a selection of cheeses and I had to admit that white wine may go better with cheese than red wine. The combinations were great. Of course the classic dish with Chablis is oysters.

 There were eight wines in the tasting and Mr. Moreau began by speaking about the 2009 vintage. He said it was a good vintage, had good acidity and was easy to drink. But he did add that the 2009 vintage will be ready to drink before the 2008 vintage.

 There are four different types of Chablis: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru.

Petit Chablis 2009 Domaine Chistophe Camu This was an easy wine to drink with good acidity, hints of citrus, a nice finish and pleasant aftertaste. Mr. Moreau said it would make a very good aperitif.

 Petit Chablis 2009 Domaine des Malandes This one had a little more body, good acidity and minerality with earthy aromas and citrus flavors.

 Mr.Brocard spoke about the next two wines:

 Chablis  2009 Clotilde Davenne Domaine Les Temps Perdus  Good acidity, easy drinking wine.

 Chablis 2009 Domaine Jean-Paul et Benoit Droin.   This was my favorite of the first four. It had more structure, brighter citrus fruit, and good minerality and tasted like classic Chablis.

 Mr Beocord said that malolatic fermentation always takes place in the wines of Chablis. This is because they are so far north and they do not have a problem with acidity. In fact they are so far north that they can have a problem with spring frost.  They do not want a wine that is fruity and up front because wines like this are not meant to age and Chablis can age for a number of years. He also said that 2007 was an excellent vintage.

 Chablis 1e Cru Mont de Mont de Milieu 2009 Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Févre

This is a light, very elegant wine, well balanced with good acidity. The vines are 30 years old and barriques are used but only 5-6% are new.

 Chablis 1e Cru Vaillons 2007 Domaine Billaud-Simon.  The Vaillons vineyard is 11 hectares and as far as I know this wines was aged in stainless steel. It was a very well made, elegant and well balanced wine.

 Chablis Grand Cru, 2007 Château Grenouilles La Chablisienne.  This is the Grand Cru of the cooperative of Chablis which I believe is a two hectare plot. This wine had the most wood but it did not interfere with the Chablis character.

 Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 2006 Domaine William Févre. This wine had the most bodyand was drinking the best of all the wines. I believe the winemaker here believes that Grand Cru must have oak aging but he also believes that new oak does not belong in Chablis.

 The only problem with the seminar was that the speakers were not talking about their wines but the wines of other producers and could not go into too much detail about each wine.

 There are seven Grand Cru Vineyards in Chablis and both speakers made it clear that there would not be any expansion of the Grand Cru. There is some confusion as Mr. Moreau pointed out as some producers use propriety names on the label as a Grand Cru. These however are all within the Gran Cru area. He repeated again “there are only 7 Grand Cru in Chablis.”

 Mr. Moreau said that he uses barriques but only a small percent are new, 3 to 5%. The rest are second, third, fourth and even fifth passage.

Mr. Moreau and Mr. Beocard

 Both Mr. Moreau and Mr. Beocard believed that some barrique aging was good for Chablis.  Chablis can take the oak aging and it enhances its aromas and flavors. The oak should always be very subtle.  The term “Chardonnay” was never mentioned!

However he also mentioned that there are producers that only use stainless steel for their Chablis and strongly believe that Chablis has so much going for it, that it does not need oak.

 When the tasting was over we were given a copy of “The Wines of CHABLIS and the Grand Auxerrois” by Rosemary George.

 I was very pleased with the way the wines were showing and would agree with the statement that Linda Lawry made at the beginning that Chablis is at the opposite spectrum of over oaked–dare I use the word– “Chardonnay”.