TN: The antithesis of a buttery, over-oaked, low acid Chardonnay ...

WINE TALK
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  • 2011 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (2/9/2015)
    Drunk over two evenings. Pale lemon colour. A restrained bouquet with a squeeze of lemon over cut granite and wet gravel. Plenty of minerals on the nose and a little spice emerges over time. However, no real sea spray, oyster shell or other typical marine elements and no oak artefact (because it’s 100% stainless steel fermented). On palate, crisp, pure and precise. Steely with citric and granite flavours. Quite attractively austere, with no hint of tropical fruit flavours and no toasty or spicy oak. Energetic and driven, with bright, effervescent, gorgeous acids. Rich with serious fruit weight, power and structure, as befits the climat, but it is unusual, and refreshing, to encounter this without elevage. A parched, arid, long, desert-dry, mineral finish. The antithesis of a buttery, over-oaked, low acid Chardonnay. A traditional Chablis, made, I understand, without battonage, in a reductive, low oxygen style, with good sulphur. It seems to have a better-than-average chance of surviving premox, which is important, because you would want to cellar it for 5-20 years. 93+ (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Love Louis Michel. Thanks for the note Howard

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Thought this was going to be about Arnot-Roberts Trout Gulch. pileon

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Is this fermented in 100% Stainless Steel? I didn’t know that Michel doesn’t use oak on his Grand Crus -

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Thomas, this is my understanding:

In the past, with Louis Michel Grand Cru, I’ve thought I’ve detected oak on palate but been misinterpreting texture, volume and weight.

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I’m fairly certain Michel is steel only for fermentation and aging both. One writer even mentioned that he was so strict about it that Michel referred to himself as “The Ayatollah of the Tank.”

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Thanks guys - I haven’t had his Grand Cru wines in years, have always loved his wines and found it surprising to hear.

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Looking at CT, I had another 2011 Louis Michel Grand Cru with a similar experience last year:

  • 2011 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (3/29/2014)
    Light lemon colour. Not as classic Chablis on bouquet as the Moreau-Naudet (diners were suggesting Loire!), notes of honey, yellow peach, vanilla and some minerals. On palate, sweet entry. More Chablis-like in the mouth with some marine flavours but yellow fruits and honey the predominant flavour profile. Also, some minerals. Fairly round with ripe fruit (I was guessing 2009). Good mid palate stuffing, clearly Grand Cru fruit weight and power. As with the Moreau-Naudet approachable and good with food now, but one for the cellar (medium term). JC said that this is unoaked, which was a surprise from the palate. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Same here…

Thanks for all the info [cheers.gif] and need to go back and try them again.