Understanding that such rankings are at least partially subjective, would anyone care to rank both 1er an Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis qualitatively? Separate lists please. Thanks.
Michael,
On any given day . . .
Quality is what you think it is not what someone else does.
I can say, however, that some of the most haunting bottles of aged Chablis I’ve ever had came from Vaudesir.
Best, Jim
Sure it’s completely subjective and personal, but still I’m hoping to see some discussion here.
From limited experience thus far, I’ve been fairly thrilled by a few bottles from Côte de Léchet, a 1er which seems to get very little mention even if wine-searcher says “the Cote de Lechet Premier Cru climat makes some of Chablis’ most sought-after Premier Cru wines.” As their writeup mentions: very intense minerality in a leaner frame, with fruit taking a distinct back seat to the stony chauffeur. So far that’s my candidate for most underrated 1er.
This is fairly producer dependent. I think with grand cru, Clos if often still tops, but Preuses from dauvissat can be better, and some Valmur and Vaudesir can really impress.
With PC’s, monte de Tonnerre still most often wins for me. Valourent (sp?) can be quite good as well. I tend to like some minor little sites like Secher, or le Lys, or Pargues, but it’s sometimes hard to tell if it’s just that they are quirky and less common, or if they are truly better. Actually, one of my favorite wines is just the Dauvissat AC Chablis.
We tasted the 08 Raveneau MdT blind vs the Clos, Valmur, and Blanchots. I was sure the MdT was one of the grand crus.
MdT is Grand Cru quality every time in the right hands.
Actually, one of my winemaker friends feels that the GC these days often get a little too ripe, and it’s the p
c’s now that are more likely to give you the true chablis character that we all learned to love.
I tend to agree with some of the comments for Montée de Tonnerre for the PCs and Les Clos for the GCs. I think that these are, by quite far, my choices for the top (obviously in the right hands as others have said).
Agree with this also.
Clos will always be the consensus top pick among GC, but on any given day, depending on producer and vintage, I’ve enjoyed Preuses and Borguerots as much or even more. To my palate, Borguerots may not be as sophisticated as the other two, but can dazzle me with its somewhat wilder earthy/briney qualities.
I’ll second Chuck’s call on Cote de Lechet. I really like these for a more steely, mineral-driven, white flower expression coming from the east facing slopes. On the opposite side, for a riper, more yellow fruited style Mont de Milieu is a nice option: south facing exposure one over from MdT.
I will lean to Le Clos as well, although I have had some very good wines from Valmur by Raveneau.
In terms of PC, I also am a fan of MdT, and likewise, have had some pretty stellar Raveneau from the vineyard.
Most consistent enjoyment has been Les Clos from various producers. I tend to like Valmur a lot. Funny enough, have yet to have a Vaudesir I care about. And I fourth or so Cote de Lechets, agree wonderful minerality usually—I have a 2008 Defaix up to bat tonight, as a matter of fact.
MdT is also quite enjoyable and Preuses when done well. Good value in Valourent.
I find this as well as my palate shifts more toward lighter and more elegant wines. Not just with Chablis, but with many of the higher end “special” bottlings, riservas, etc. in other regions. For my tastes, just too much extraction, oak, etc. GC red Burgundy and higher end Barolo being exceptions, but my experience is still somewhat limited there.
I think it is producer dependent but I like MdT and Sechet.
MdT for 1er and Preuses for GC are my favorites. I would likely say Clos for GC if I ever got to drink any.
How do people compare the different vineyards? It seems like without doing a horizontal from the same estate and vintage, it would be hard to tease out differences attributable to vineyard rather than producer style or year.
Once several years ago I was able to taste through the entire Fevre line up. That helped a lot.
Interesting that nobody mentioned Montmains as top 1er Cru. I think the wines from that vineyard, which includes the Forest vineyard farmed inter alia by Dauvissat, are very good, too. Dauvissat, Tribut and Fèvre all make very good Montmains / Forest. I like the slightly cooler style, very Chablis for my taste.
Right. The answer is you just have to drink a lot of Chablis, an assignment that I signed up for many years ago. Also, if you can get your tasting group to do horizontals, GC or PC comparisons, etc, that can help a lot.
I do this every year for at least Louis Michel’s wines (I buy at least 1 of each vineyard to see the difference and determine if there is a shift over time in qualities for certain vineyards from him). I used to do it with friends for more producers but we don’t do it anymore sadly. I would argue that that is the best way to do it so that you get the best sense of which (and from who) vineyards you truly like the most.