I’ve heard it said that “insiders” are glad that Les Clos gets most of the attention, distracting from the other grand crus. Qualitatively, how would you rank Chablis’ Grand Crus? Thanks.
I am more of a producer over vineyard guy–love Raveneau Valmur, Dauvissat Preuses, Michel Vaudesir. Sometimes Raveneau MdT is better than others’ grand crus. Clos is not my favorite vineyard, but I do have a bunch of it.
Vaudesir is my favorite but not because it is “better.” It just makes prettier wines, IMO.
Best, Jim
Have not tasted a lot of producers, but with Fevre, although we’re talking about evolving, moving targets from vintage to vintage and at various points in their evolution, I enjoy Preuses and Bouguerots as much as and sometimes more than Clos.
I think it depends on the producer, and of course the vintage. Even so, every time I taste through a lineup of a given producer’s wines, I’m purposefully hoping to find the wine I like more which is NOT Clos. And more often than not, the best wine turns out to be Clos. Recently tasted through all of the 2012 Fevre Grand Crus. Lots of good wines, but Clos was definitely the “best” of the bunch (whatever that means, I liked it the most). Same in 2011. Same in 2010.
I think generally where a producer makes Les Clos it is consistently their best wine. Some argument can be had about Dauvissat’s Preuses but I can’t think of too many other cases where the Clos is not the top wine.
My favorite as well.
I think it depends somewhat on the producer and where the vines are, as well as vine age. Also Clos in my mind can take a little longer to show it’s stuff and that many folks drink it too early.
I like Les Clos best in most vintages from most top tier producers (Fevre, Dauvisaut, etc) . More for me I guess?
Alan says almost exactly what I was going to say. In Chablis, producer matters a lot. But if a producer has a Clos that is, IMO, almost always the best. And I have had the same experience with the Fevre 2012 lineup as Alan.
Clos is sort of the Montrachet of Chablis. Plenty of people I know prefer Chevalier over Montrachet…
For me though, the greatest Chablis I have had have still all been Raveneau Clos, except for the one amazing bottle we had from the '40’s (can’t remember what it was, sadly).
Coates was quite high on Simonnet-Fevre’s 2010 Les Clos. Anyone had this or opinions on this producer?
In my experience, the most consistently great grand cru in Chablis is/was Dauvissat’s Preuses. (But, I’ve had others’ that were not that impressive). When that wine’s on (which is usually) there are nuances and finesse in the bottle that Clos doesn’t usually have, particularly the finesse.
But…a good Clos is always a treat, too.
I think Paul’s analogy to Montrachet is apt…though I have little relevant experience with Le Montrachet. I think Chambertin is also analagous. I consider Preuses to be the Clos de Beze of Chablis.
Dauvissat Preuses is a bit of an anomaly. You have the best or second best winemaker in Chablis, then the vines are in a atypical section of the vineyard with ideal conditions. No one else’s Preuses comes close, and I don’t think anyone else’s Preuses is anywhere near as good as various Clos’ or some Vaudesirs. so overall, I think Preuses is a midlevel Grand CRu–except Dauvissat’s.
Yes, it is a bit of an anomaly.
In 1996, Vincent Dauvissat took me into the Preuses to show me his vines (and gather some kimmeridgian rocks for me to take). His Preuses vines looked like they were manicured by comparison to all of his neighbors’ holdings. (I don’t know that they were , otherwise, “atypical” or in “ideal conditions”. ) In addition, he was rhapsodic about how beautiful this parcel smelled when flowering was happening in the springtime (it was June then). Since I had alredy tasted several of his Preuses and was blown away by them…I think…it was not an accident that we ended up in that vineyard.
I agree it might be due as much to the producer as to the site. But, the potential in the site is obviously there, too, IMO. I think it is probably easier to make good wines from the Clos.
Had a bottle of 2012 Fevre Preuses tonight. Damn fine wine. Worth $80? No freaking way. There are too many fine bottles of wine out there for far less.
I’ve found the Fevre Preuses a little foursquare, although my experience has been a little limited. From what I’ve had I’d almost prefer the better PC’s–MdT or valorent. Not that it’s bad wine in any way, but perhaps not worth the grand cru tariff.
Wow, $80 per now?? I feel like you could find this for $60 or less just a few years ago. Hell, the Fevre Clos was less than $80 a few years ago!
I generally agree. The wildcard for me is Grenouilles – it’s a tiny Grand Cru and very few producers make it (since most of it goes to the cooperative Le Chablisienne), but I find it fascinating to taste and markedly different from Les Clos.
+1, Testut Grenouilles is worth seeking out.