the other day I had a 2002 Domaine Daniel-Etienne-Defaix (Domaine du Vieux Chateau) Vaillon that I was rather impressed by… To boot, it was a really deep golden color, just shy of amber – definitely one of the prettier wines I’ve had in recent memory
Actually love this wine every year. Better than most other houses PC’s. wish it wasn’t quite so expensive and quite so hard to find.
I am really surprised by the young average age of the wines folks are drinking. I would say the average age of bottles that I open would be 7-9 years, maybe more. Looks like at the upper end of the bell curve.
Don, I am sure it is fear of premox. At 7-9 years of age, what percentage of your wines show it and what producers do you favor?
My problems with premox have been mostly non-Chablis white Burgundy. Knock-on-wood.
My note on the 2014 Louis Michel MdT:
Damn excited about this wine as I bought a 3-pack of this for $30 a bottle from K&L. 2014 Chablis is kind of like my version of Parker’s 00, 03, 05, 09 Bordeaux…vintage or in his case, vintages of the century (I really want to put a “wink” right here but don’t want the ridicule from friends 
). Already disposed of two bottles and was underwhelmed both times. I think my problem was that I drank a 14 BS MdT about two weeks prior and that wine was everything I want in Chablis. This wine, for me, didn’t have the je ne sais quoi. Very light in color, not a ton on the nose with no palate impact whatsoever. It possessed a little citrus and steel, which I like, but otherwise the wine just seemed to be there. An introvert at this stage, I guess. I’ll give my last bottle a few years and see what happens. 87pts
Disappointed, as you can tell.
jared–L Michel can underwhelm a bit early on. I think you’ve picked the right strategy to set it aside for awhile and I think it will grow on you.
IME, Louis Michel wines show quite well young if given 6+ hours of air. Never had one that didn’t.
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14 La Chablisienne Les Preuses…DONT OPEN one yet!! Way too young…showing the weight of a 1er…if that! Tasty…but not GC. Will wait a few years…and enjoy the 12 for now.
Well, there is that, but how many besides you, and maybe me, are decanting their whites for 6+ hours?
Tasted this (and the whole line up) at Dauvissat last year and was floored at the high quality of the vintage -stellar even for such a top producer. And at $22 the Petit was closest thing to a no brainer around. Sadly I see it’s sold out at that price, not surprising.
I’ve got a Samuel Billaud 2014 Petit teed up for this week. We’ll see.
I must admit that I like Chablis but do not love it. For premier crus in the $20-35 or so range, they are great values and there are wonderful wines there. But, for the price of say Raveneau grand crus, I would rather have grand crus from the Cotes du Beaune. Last summer, when in Burgundy, I had a couple of Raveneau grand crus (at the restaurant in Chablis, these were steals, but let us go with US pricing for purposes of this comparison) and did not like them nearly as much as I did a Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet I had drunk a couple of nights earlier. In fact, I probably liked a few premier crus we had over the course of the visit more than the Raveneaus. But, we each have our own tastes in wine.
I had a '14 Billaud-Simon 1er Vaillons with some sushi tonight. Holy smokes, that was good! Phew!
2012 La Chablisiènne Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
I have had this twice in the last week or two. Beautiful nose. Some floral notes and bright fruit. The nose has substantial interest and complexity. This does close a little but then opens after about 45 minutes.
The palate shows big fruit . Adequate acidity. There is energy here. Not like a 2010/2014 but good energy. The length of this wine is fantastic with time in the glass. High quality. Not a bad wine for cruise ship either. Cruising the coast of Vietnam.
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last night i had 2014 Christophe et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume…
well balanced bottle but i would wait another few years to open my next one
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2011 Gilbert Picq Chablis Vosgros
An orphan bottle in the cellar. CT says I drank my last bottle in 2017. I’m very happy my record keeping is so poor.
This is a beautiful bottle in a perfect place in its evolution. Slightly subdued nose yet plush palate. Dense citrus, oyster shell minerality showing Chabis typicality, but then some pineapple and smoky scents threw me. Overall a delicious wine. Picq never fails to impress me. I’ve never found an oxidized bottle, and they drink well young and old. Picq Chablis is sometimes hard to find, but well worth seeking out.
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A couple nights back we opened Alice et Olivier Chablis Clardy from 2015. This wine was yellow in color with perfect clarity. Great texture in the mouth with an orange zest lemon flavor that persists with moderate length. Well balanced wine with appropriate acidity to go well with food.
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2010 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros
The streak continues; I’ve never had a Picq I didn’t love.
This is really dense for a Chablis, but this is always their biggest wine; grand cru density. The texture is Meursault-like. If it weren’t for the oyster shell minerality and acidity, “Chablis” might have been a hard call. Still, a beautiful wine. Creamy mandarin and lemon, pear, long finish, good balance. You cannot spell “Picq” without a P/Q!
2012 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles Château Grenouilles
Ample but crisp. Peaches, lemons and saline. The Frog is one of my favorite grand cru vineyards in Chablis, and La Chablisienne does well with those grape. Louis Michel has some great bottles from that vineyard as well.
Cheers,
Warren
What do people drink Chablis with? We don’t eat a lot of shellfish because the kids don’t eat it. And I always find myself reaching for Riesling and Chenin before Chablis. I don’t find it to be the easiest pairing.