Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2020

Description

One of the oldest and most respected names in Chablis, this branch of the Moreau family is headed by Christian and now his son Fabien who is the winemaker and manager.

Possessing magnificent vineyard holdings built up in some of the very best vineyard areas of Chablis by the family over generations (including nearly 8 hectares out of Chablis’ total 92 hectares of Grand cru), this small but remarkable estate has in just a few years established itself as one of the leading producers of Chablis producing consistently outstanding wines.

With relatively small (but very well sited) holdings in Petit, village and 1er cru Chablis, the highlights here are undoubtedly the amazing range of Grand cru vineyards including one single holding of approximately 3 hectares in Les Clos as well as .41 hectares of Clos des Hospices dans Les Clos plus slightly smaller holdings in Valmur, Blanchots and Vaudesir. Now the wines are gaining in even clearer expression with the vineyards having been certified organic since 2013 and together with some new tanks and other investments the results are showing clearly in the wines with each vintage. These are wines of precision, crystal clear typicity, and elegance, that will age classically while enabling tremendous enjoyment throughout their lives.  A combination of exceptional vineyard sites, old vines, brilliant winemaking and fastidious care in every step of production has resulted in these wines being regarded as amongst the very best produced in Chablis.

“The quality here is again so good that I’m tempted to say that Chablis has yet another leading light to add to the usual stars of Raveneau and Dauvissat”.   Burghound.com

About the 2020 Vintage – lots of hype on how good the vintage is, back to a more classic vintage, brimming with minerality and tension. An excellent vintage .. complex, expressive and generous but still with great balance and acidity. ”Very fresh, mineral vintage with less alcoholic level and nice tension. A little bit away from the 2 last “warm” vintages 2018 and 2019. Regarding the style we have more minerality/tension compare to the previous vintages.” Fabien Moreau (winemaker and Christian Moreau’s son).

“I am a big fan of the 2020 season in Chablis. In some ways it was a textbook vintage, more consistent than recent years, with just the right amount of warmth … Overall, the 2020s attain that liminal point between satisfying ripeness and that terseness, steeliness or the mineralité that underlie its reputation.”  Neal Martin, Vinous Media

About this wine: From 3.8 ha of 30 to 70+ y.o. vines with a south, south-east exposure. Hand harvest, natural yeast ferment and aged 2/3rd’s in tank and 1/3rd in barrique for 6-8 months. This wine in recent years is showing even greater definition and class. Is it from the organic viticulture, new tanks and equipment giving sharper focus, or now that Fabien has nearly 20 vintages of experience in creating what has become one of the most seamless and perfectly formed 1er cru Chablis’ to come from this appellation.

91-93 points Neal Martin, Vinous Media “.. 35% matured in barrel until March, when the entire production is transferred into tank. It has a detailed, floral bouquet of pressed white flower and dandelion scents mixed with honeysuckle and orange pith. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, orange peel flavors and hints of mandarin. Taut and fresh toward the finish. This is a classy 2020 Vaillon to follow on from the strong 2019.” 

92 points John Gilman “The 2020 Vaillon is a fine bottle in the making. This wine is raised in a combination of about forty percent casks and sixty percent tank, with only five percent of the barrels used for it new in any given vintage, so there is just a whisper of vanillin oak in its profile. The 2020 Vaillon is superb and shows no ill effects from its spring frost troubles (except perhaps in the number of bottles that will be available), as the bouquet is bright and pure, wafting from the glass in a mix of pear, sweet grapefruit, chalky soil tones, white flowers, a touch of vanillin oak and a lovely topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and zesty, with lovely soil undertow, excellent focus and grip, bouncy acids and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2025-2050)”

89-91 points Allen Meadows – Burghound “Here too the nose is exuberantly fruity while displaying background hints of lemon rind, white flower, brine and algae. There is a lovely texture to the utterly delicious middle weight flavors that exhibit good length on the slightly more tightly wound finale. This does need to develop more depth but that should occur over the next 2 to 3 years.” Oct 2021

91-93pts Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy: “Fine fresh primrose. A steely nose, some of the lemon notes again, light but fine. There is steel in the backbone. Lightly stony, a touch of the marine. Fine length again. The lemon is quite pronounced. Tasted: June 2021.”

Our Special Price $136.99 – Last stocks of this vintage!