2006 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montmains- France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (7/12/2018)
Under screw cap…started out angular and a little musky. Screw cap did its job so far as showing bright lemon/lime freshness, shimmering green gold color…BUT…also shows a metallic edge, angular, fumes, and just plane rough. Very little Chablis character…maybe a little crushed oyster and citrus, but also has a little petrol ala Bord Blanc. Would be interesting to see how the cork version is? Still drinkable, with some nice notes here and there, just not up to Louis Michel quality…not a fan of this one. Will see what tomorrow brings…if anything. (84 pts.)
The color in my pics are usually darker than they look because of the warm lighting. No reduction. This is my first 06 LM…all the 04/07/08 I’ve had(incl. Clos) under cork have been top notch. Usually show perfect Chablis character with a wonderful energized softness. This is the first angular one I’ve encountered.
To conclude anything from one data point would be to unscientific to put it mildly.
Why not score it 93 as per usual? I’m guessing you are a proponent of corks? Although that is mere speculation on my behalf!
One problem here is that winemakers need to learn how to prepare wine for screw caps as they need different treatment to cork sealed wines. At least a few vintages of trial and error may be needed to get it right. In the meantime, don’t be quick to judge!
Cut James a break. He clearly did not use the search function to go over the 500 other times people have talked about screw caps & preparing wines for the closure.
2006 wasn’t a disaster but wasn’t particularly good and didn’t produce particularly Chablisienne wine. Furthermore, Montmains isn’t a top siteeither within Michel or generally.
FWIW I just had Michel’s 2016 Chablis and thought it was terrible. Literally smelled like Thanksgiving turkey for some reason. Nothing Chablis-like about it.
I can’t comment on Raveneau because I’m not a baller. Montmains is on the wrong side of the river and Michel has lots of other holdings and this isn’t among the best. I’m not exactly sure where the vines are, but it’s a big vineyard and could be anywhere. So, I’m making some generalizations but ones that I happen to find useful.
2016 is a poor Chablis vintage that isn’t developing well in bottle. It’s better than 2013, and—as always—there are some wines that transcend expectations; but beyond that, there’s not much to be said for it. I suspect the wines will show more and more exotic, musky, quasi-Alsatian qualities as they age. People who purchased them based on the reviews will be disappointed if they are looking for classical Chablis. Drink up.
Montmains is a very large vineyard - a whole hillside, effectively. Butteaux and Forets are both part of Montmains. Some of the best wines in Chablis, in other words, are labelled—or are entitled to be labelled—Montmains.
But despite all our preconceptions, it remains quite hard to get a handle on the true terroir signatures of Chablis. Yield, vine / rootstock genetics and vinification, élevage exercise such a big influence. In an ideal world, where everyone farmed like Dauvissat and vinified like Raveneau (I jest, of course), it would be easier to rank the various sites.