TN: 2005 Domaine des Chenevières (Frederic Gueguen) Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet

WINE TALK
1
  • 2005 Domaine des Chenevières Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (7/11/2009)
    When first opened this showed some of the '05 ripeness on the nose and palate, apple fruit with not much focus. But after an hour or two of decanting it settled into itself and displayed classic citrus and brine aromas. The palate has some fruit stuffing, to be sure, but it’s more a sense of sappiness than ripeness. This is complemented by a refreshing acidity and a firm, lingering, minerally Chablis grip. The finish is persistent but still shows some tightness to the flavors. A nice early glimpse at this wine. It was a great drink on this night, but some more cellar time should see it open up even more.

Posted from CellarTracker

To give a little context for this wine, I also opened an '05 Dampt Cote de Lechet earlier in the Spring. The Dampt had more of a green fruited quality on the nose and palate and was a more precise rendition, with loads of cut and minerality on the finish. The Gueguen/Chenevieres, in contrast, showed more extract on the palate, which coated the structure to some extent. I would speculate that this might have something to do with the old vines in their parcel. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were the slower-evolving of the two.

The bottle was paired with a fresh herb and lemon risotto, an unsurprisingly delightful combination for a summer evening.

-Jamie

2

Jamie, thanks for the note on the '05 Cote de Lechet from Frederic Gueguen. I liked this wine out of the blocks but have not been back to taste it since it was first bottled. It sounds like it is evolving slowly and in a very good direction, and should be lovely with a few more years bottle age. How did you become familiar with Monsieur Gueguen’s wines, as his production is quite small and one does not see them around too often in the US.

Best,

John

3

John,

A couple of years ago I bought a mixed case of the '05 1ers from Carolina Wine Company. I believe they were grey-marketed in by CCW’s import wing, I forget the name of that company though. I’m pretty sure I had seen Burghound’s reviews of the '05s, and that’s the first I had heard of the domaine. I know they are imported by Scott Paul Wine in Oregon, beginning with the '06s.

Have you tasted either of the other '05 1ers since bottling?

Jamie