2012 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros- France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (8/9/2015)
I Pobega’d this new delivery … it’s terrific juice! This 1er combines 2012 richness and weight with real Chablis typicity. Pale gold colour. A nose of chalk, lemons, spearmint, river boulder, Granny Smith apple and flint. Energetic and vibrant on palate. Flavours of lemons, green apples, limestone and oyster shell. Vibrant, bright acids. As I say, good fruit weight and quite rich but the acidity ensures there is good balance and precision. Finishes long and parched desert dry. Like most '12s, I don’t see this as a very long lived wine but, even this early, it’s pretty much everything I look for in a young 1er Chablis. Very good! (92 pts.)
Thanks for the note Howard. I figured it was too soon to drink this wine but this makes me want to open one. I am a fan of Picq’s wines in general and they are very reasonably priced.
Marc, Wine Works and Canal’s in NJ usually carry Picq. Not sure if they ship to FL though.
These wines are generally available in the US, just not this particular one right now. I purchased this one just 2 months ago from a local merchant (and it finished #2 in our white Burg tasting):
Thanks Ken (I would have been surprised if Picq was not available in the US, they’re not that obscure!). For some reason my importer delivered the '12 Vogros after all of the other '12 Picqs. I like the wines but FWIW apparently did not like the Vaucoupins as much as you did:
2012 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis Vieilles Vignes- France, Burgundy, Chablis (3/7/2015)
Light gold. Aromas of lemons, greengage, fresh herbs, chalk and minerals. Chablis typical flavours of crisp green apple, greengage, lime juice and pear, with wet granite. Good acidic cut. Decent fruit weight. Some richness on the back palate. Enjoyable but fairly straightforward. Nice QPR. Drinking well now. I’m not sure it will be very long lived. I would drink it in the next 5 years. (90 pts.)
2012 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaucoupins- France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (5/10/2014)
Colour pale gold. Classic Chablis aromas of seashells, sea spray and other marine components. Also some lemon on bouquet, a nice fresh nose. A nice pure, refreshing entry in the mouth, with flavours of crushed stone, some sea shell, citrus and peach. Quite rich. A deep mid palate, with sufficient fruit weight but a little too broad on the back palate. A nice wine but not quite the acid cut or precision I look for in this 1er. (90 pts.)
2012 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis- France, Burgundy, Chablis (5/2/2014)
Colour deep lemon. Nose of green apple, lemon, grapefruit and rock melon. Also a little chalk and faint sea breeze. A bouquet more of fruit than minerality or marine elements. In the mouth bright, racy acids and quite ripe and generous. Nice texture and flavours of citrus, rock melon and pear, with a little minerality on the finish. Reasonable fruit weight and structure. However, a bit broad on the back palate and a little straightforward in its flavour profile. I will cellar my other couple of bottles for up to 5 years to see if they develop greater complexity and detail. Apparently, no oak. Good QPR. (88 pts.)
I’ve always loved Picq, and have never had an oxidized bottle in the decade + I’ve been buying and drinking them. Unfortunately, no distributors here in Washington. I used to buy a case of the Dessus la Carriere and a mixed case of the Vaucoupins and Vosgros each vintage. They all age beautifully, and the former drinks like a PC while the latter two approach GC heights (IMO).
Thanks for the note Howard. A small caution, I bought quite a few Picqs from the mid noughties ('04 & '05 IIRC). On release they were high tensile wines, delicious, absolutely everything I look for in Chablis. I expected them to have a long life, however at about 5 yrs they fell over and became rather developed.
I’ve only been following these for a few years so I don’t know about this issue (which sounds different to premox, where some degree of risk is ‘baked in’ to every white Burg). Because they’re comparatively good QPR, even if this is a current day problem, I’d probably still buy some, specifically for earlier consumption.
But I’d be really keen to know if this a current day problem. Does anyone else have experience with this, especially from the late noughties?
Looking at my tasting notes, I’ve typically finished most vintages by six years, so I’ve no long-term experience with these. That said, an '07 Dessus La Carierre I had in April had plenty of verve, and showed no sign of decline. One of my best $22 bottles ever.
2007 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis Dessus La Carriere- France, Burgundy, Chablis (10/11/2014)
Excellent value Chablis. Beginning to take on positive characteristics of age. In the balance of fruit versus minerals in Chablis, this is tilted a bit towards fruit, but still minerality. Oak? I doubt there is much if any. Either old barrels or stainless steel. (88 pts.)
2007 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis Dessus La Carriere- France, Burgundy, Chablis (8/10/2013)
This is a very nice opening level Chablis. Minerals and white grape with a bit of apple. This is not a fruit driven wine. It actually reminds me of some of the minerality and weight of a Meursault, different from the minerality of a higher level chablis, with the oyster shells not being here. The finish is moderate.
The took on weight as it took on air. If you can, give this 30-60 minutes of air in advance.
We bought this at Posner’s annual portfolio tasting a few years ago. Josh Raynolds and my wife both agreed this was the best of the base level Chablis, but there was a question of how it would develop. So far, it’s doing fine. (89 pts.)
