TN: 2012 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

Couldn’t find much traffic on this wine so I decided to drop in a new topic for this TN. I used to buy more Michel but as I have diverted $$ to champagne, this is one producer with whom I just don’t buy as much. I do like these wines, especially the Sechet and Butteaux VV, and also this MdT. Nice bottle for $35, reminds me to keep an open mind about a purchase when these are offered again. Thanks for reading.

  • 2012 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (8/21/2017)
    Tonight’s bottle, which I opened yesterday, tastes very similar to the TN I wrote on the previous bottle from 2014. Lemon, yellow apple, orange, touch of honey and sea breeze. There is real slick mix of fruits here, joined with the acidity and a clean profile. Finishes with a lemon peel and tonic water note. I’ve consistently dug the Michel Chablis because of the purity and fair pricing, plus they farm clean and avoid wood. Delicious.

Posted from CellarTracker

Louis Michel is a staple. A buy any wine, any vintage! But you’re right…it’s readily available so sometimes you overlook these and buy others that are more “hipster”! I should buy more as well…always satisfies!

Buzz, the pricing makes these hard to pass on. I did buy a 1/2 dozen of the 375s of the 14 Tonnerre not too long ago, as they go great for a meal with my wife when she is drinking with me over dinner and we need just a few glasses.

PS–FWIW, as I just drained down the last ounce in my glass, and I am sitting outside in my courtyard at about 75 degrees, the wine has warmed some. As I tasted it, it struck me that a note of banana came through. Just a little passing sense of it, something I can’t recall in Chardonnay before.

In Chablis, Louis Michel is the poster child for stainless steel fermentation. His wines see no wood, 100% stainless steel and are fermented with indigenous yeasts and very cold fermentation temperatures that result in very slow, lengthy vinifications. I have little experience tasting the wines, from the limited sample size they appear to be well made, pure expressions of Chablis’ stony minerality.

I’m holding a Chablis tasting for my wine group in October and one of the flights is going to be 6 wines from the 2012 vintage served single blind, 3 from Louis Michel (Butteaux VV, Grenouilles and Vaudesir) and 3 from the “wood camp” (Raveneau Butteaux, Raveneau Valmur and Dauvissat Preuses). I’m interested to see if the group can discern steel fermented vs wood fermented Chablis, and also see how the wines compare quality wise to my benchmarks.

His Vaudesir is excellent, he is one of few who makes an easily available Grenouilles, and he is not too pricey. All said, for me, the high points are not quite as high as Raveneau or Dauvissat.

I have still one bottle of the MdT '08 - really should dig that up and enjoy!

Larry, please post the results. I prefer Michel to Raveneau and Dauvissat. The 2014 Michel Vaudesir and Grenouilles a few nights ago were superb, with both having a similar cool, bright, fresh, citrus-infused personality, but the Grenouilles clearly having more flesh and breadth. All but me preferred the Grenouilles.

My wife prefers these to Raveneau and Dauvissat too. Saves me money.

I think they are totally different wines. Of course all chablis but totally different.

I bought about 40 bottles of this producer from the '05, '06 and .07 vintages. So far I have drank about 20 bottles. The 12 tasting notes that I have written range from 89 to 94 with an average rating of 91. I really like the crisp freshness with whitefish and shellfish. I had one bottle that was off but I don’t think it was premox.

Alan, I have bought and drank many bottles of the Vaudesir. About the Grenouilles, I still have some of the latter in my cellar. However, the pricing between Michel and Raveneau/Dauvissat is significantly different. I just don’t buy wines from either producer anymore, as the pricing has become too much for my budget. I know they are good wines, I do appreciate them but they’re double to triple that of Michel.

Martin, you know I respect your palate, but your first sentence is crazy talk. [cheers.gif] As to your second point, while Michel Chablis is certainly well made, delicious and site specific (and I have bought and enjoyed many bottles of Michel Chablis), no bottles have ever offered the same longevity as Raveneau and Dauvissat. My experience is that Michel Chablis is excellent to drink short to mid term, which is why I think your '14s were so good . . . but not long term.

Asher, you make a good point. [truce.gif] I drink the Michel wines young, including the grand crus, for their bracing freshness and purity. I don’t see them as wines to age like Raveneau and Dauvissat. I find that the elevage at Raveneau and Dauvissat rounds off the corners and edges of the wine, which I like in Chablis. I do, however, get the appeal of Raveneau and Dauvissat. The 2012 Davissaut La Forest a couple of nights ago started off subdued but was singing after a couple of hours.

I like Michel’s wines quite a bit, for the same reasons given by others, but haven’t bought as many as I should.

FIFY.