Originally published on WineWriting.com by Richard Mark James: http://www.winewriting.com/2013/06/chablis-on-foot-part-2-droin.htmlThe first instalment of this mouthwatering Chablis mini-series can be found here: "Chablis on foot" part 1: Chablis Wine Awards - http://www.winewriting.com/2013/04/chablis-on-foot-part-1-chablis-wine.htmlThis time, join me on a little walking and tasting tour around Chablis town itself taking in four nearby wineries (there are several more of course), which can easily be squeezed into a leisurely day-out with a spot of lunch sandwiched inbetween (when in Rome...): no car required, and a good way to burn off those calories from eating too much cheese, as you do in France (tour could also be done by bike, as long as you 'spit out', man)...Across the not-entirely square (place Lafayette) from the elegant and ever-so-French town hall (Mairie or Hotel de Ville) near the War Memorial, there's a discreet buzzer on a dark green metal gate for Domaine Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin (8 boulevard de Ferrières, phone 03 86 42 16 78, www.jeanpaul-droin.fr: there's a comprehensive list of their importers worldwide on this site by the way), which grants access to their hidden old ageing cellar (they have a modern winery too built near their Grand Cru vineyards). Old being the operative word, as this family estate goes back to 1620 no less, which is something French winemakers get very proud about, especially when you're the fourteenth generation "non-stop handed down from father to son," as Benoit Droin put it. Not many could say that I'd imagine. In any case, the main thing is that Benoit is now running the show, who explained they own 26 hectares (64 acres) in 15 appellations - Chablis, Petit Chablis, eight Premier Crus and five Grand Crus - "on both sides of the valley, so they're quite spread out making it difficult to manage ripening, picking dates etc."Benoit answered various questions as we tasted and weaved in some details and views around the wines, all of them 2011 vintage (bottled wines although he'd opened them the night before):Petit Chablis - yeast-lees notes, aromatic citrus and peach, gets creamier on the palate with toffee-ish tones even vs salty tang on the finish; nice now actually.Chablis - "I only make one cuvée blending all my vineyards," Benoit explained, "so there's no selection of young vs old vines, I need to get consistency and quantity too as I sell 70,000 bottles." 'Chalky' lees-y notes (and a hint of SO2), turning nice and buttery vs very taut and steely mouth-feel, quite concentrated and classy; attractive classic style.Benoit talked more about winemaking, in particular oak ageing, which is a hot and contentious topic in Chablis: "I use oak but relate it to each wine, and prefer to blend tank and cask wines otherwise they lose their freshness. I do the same oak treatment every year more or less for each Premier or Grand Cru, or not..."Vosgros Premier Cru - fermented and aged in vat (no oak) "from the 2007 vintage (a fairly challenging one round these parts) and have stuck with it since." Aromatic ripe citrus with buttery notes, more 'mineral' in character with celery tones, getting richer on the palate vs intense salty crisp length. Nice wine.Vaillons Premier Cru - 20% of the wine spent eight months in oak in a mix of new to five year-old barrels (if you see what he means...). Light toasted coconut dusting and grain adds a little texture and roundness, still has nice creamy and nutty flavours then steely and closed up on the finish, subtle although perhaps it doesn't need the oak as it's a bit grainy.Benoit said he's "nearly organic... I only use 5% to 10% of non organic products and plough the soil etc. I try to do the best I can for the terroir, although I don't like to use too much copper," for example. Copper sulphate based treatments are sanctioned, and regulated of course, for organic viticulture; but Cu is toxic in heavy doses and doesn't really break down in the soil. This is one reason some winemakers give for not going for certified organic practices, and being in a northerly climate like Chablis does make it riskier too. Benoit added: "There are now quite a lot of growers who say they're 'nearly organic', but I don't want to use this as a marketing gimmick."Montmains Premier Cru - pretty toasty and grainy to start, fatter and nuttier on the palate but still a little awkward with a grainy flavour/texture; quite concentrated and creamy though with tight 'salty' finish.Mont de Milieu Premier Cru - south-facing slope. Ripe and peachy with gentle creamy mouth-feel, quite rich ripe and juicy, concentrated vs zesty and steely; fairly fine with very subtle oak use (20%). £28.50Benoit exports his wines to the UK "mostly" - via Richards Walford, now part of Fields or Berry Bros (= £ prices above and below), and Domaine Direct; as well as the US, Canada, Hong Kong and mainland China among others. "I like to spread sales to avoid being dependent on one market, as I now sell about 220,000 bottles and no bulk wine anymore."Fourchaume Premier Cru - 50% new oak. Plenty of hazelnut with light coconut toast, the wine holds it quite well and is rich nutty and buttery but still steely and mineral to finish.Montée de Tonnerre Premier Cru - aromatic coconut oak dusting vs ripe and creamy fruit, fairly rich vs very steely, zesty and tight; integrated textured oak grain, concentrated and intense, very good, will develop nicely. 25% oak. £28.50Vaudésir Grand Cru - lees-y oaty nose, toasty coconut notes vs quite exotic peachy and aromatic fruit, fatter lush texture then crisp and steely again, attractive savoury finish vs tight long and fine. £45.00Valmur Grand Cru - again fairly rich and exotic, more toasted oak and hazelnut vs lees and oat flavours, tasty buttery and savoury palate tinged with spicy oak grain / twist; lovely mix of lush vs salty steely, more powerful too but still classy. Same oak treatment as the Vaudésir, very different result.Grenouilles Grand Cru - coco spice and grain, again quite fat with toasty oak, less exotic fruit yet rounded and powerful too; the oak's a bit more obvious here with slightly awkward grainy finish, although it's steely taut and young too of course. £52.50 for the 2008.Les Clos Grand Cru - yeast lees notes on the nose, steelier very intense mouth-feel with lively acidity vs toasted coco in the background, concentrated vs super tight and mineral finish with bitter twist (wood or acidity?); very intense and closed up, needs a few years to come together. £49.95Leaving Droin, head back past the Town Hall then straight across at a sort-of junction onto Boulevard du Docteur Tacussel. Stroll down here passing the post office and on to the end of the road, where it meets Avenue de la République (there always is one in every French town). Just to the right, you'll see the grand entrance gate opening onto a welcoming gravel path/driveway and leading down to the magnificent Domaine Long-Depaquit (45 rue Auxerroise, phone 03 86 42 11 13, www.bourgogne-bichot.com). This handsomely symmetrical "late 18th Century" chateau sits at the end of this crunchy chalky path, dissecting its ornate lawn gardens lined with meticulously pointy bushy trees. As you'd expect, there's some history to accompany this place: two brothers, abbots from Pontigny Abbey to the north of Chablis, bought this monastic estate when it was sold after the Revolution; and this family ran it for almost two hundred years until 1970 when Albert Bichot acquired it."There were just 10 hectares (25 acres) of vineyards then, now the estate comes to 65," winery manager Matthieu Mangenot explained. "By 1960, there were only 500 ha left in Chablis (as people were abandoning their vines due to huge problems with frost etc.); there are over 5000 now." Their vineyards break down as 40 ha of Chablis, 15 of Premier Cru in six sites and 10 of Grand Cru in five sites... And 'La Moutonne', a historical cru site measuring 2.35 ha on a steep south-southeast facing slope that predates the current classification and is owned entirely by the company; most of it borders Vaudésir and part of it touches Preuses. Matthieu, who's been at Bichot since 2007 and worked in Beaujolais before that, gave a little more background on how they do things at Long-Depaquit, such as "hand-picking all the Premier and Grand Cru sites, as we can do more sorting, and the rest is machine-harvested (increasingly the norm here)."As we entered a lovely old mould-lined low-brick cellar, which was noticeably warmer than the main barrel cellar to induce the malo-lactic fermentation to complete (a 'second' fermentation usually following the alcoholic one, which naturally converts harsher malic acid into softer lactic acid - bit of a yawn topic but nevertheless important for the style of Chablis), Matthieu clarified that "we do this according to vintage, e.g. for the 2011 (a fresher year) but not 2009 (hot vintage so lacking in acidity). We also use about 25% to 35% oak for our Grand Cru wines." They do buy in some grapes for a Bichot label Chablis (not for Long-Depaquit), and there's a head winemaker / technical director called Alain Serveau who overseas all their estates. Matthieu described vintage 2012 as "dramatic" and "crazy" with lower yields than usual: "we had a big problem keeping everything clean, with mildew and other issues, right up to August. Yet, what did survive, was good and so was the weather when we picked."2011 Chablis - quite floral with zesty lemon and yeast-lees notes, very crisp dry and 'salty' vs subtle juicy fruit and steely length. Leaner and less obvious style. £13.99 Wine Rack, £12.50 Humble Grape.2010 Premier Cru Les Beugnons - this is part of Vaillons actually, at the higher end: "we're the only ones who label it as this," Matthieu said (I'd never seen it before). No oak. Ripe and creamy with complex green edges, oatmeal and lees tones, quite rich and creamy vs savoury and salty, fairly concentrated and elegant with fatter yet very mineral profile, steely crisp finish. Fair class with that lovely 2010 vintage mix of rich vs steely. €14 cellar door.2010 Premier Cru Les Vaillons - 10% oak-fermented then aged for eight months. More mineral and less expressive nose, citrus with hints of butter; turns gently creamy / toasty on the palate vs vibrant ripe fruit building up, then salty and very crisp; fairly austere and long vs subtle concentration and nutty richness. Much more restrained at the moment.€14, £18.50 for the 2009 at Oddbins.2010 Premier Cru Les Vaucopins - they have 4.2 ha in this "very steep site... down to the river." 15% oak. Very light spice and toast on the nose, oaty with toffeed butter and a touch of quince; these flavours carry onto the palate once again underpinned by intense very steely profile, buttery vs zippy and salty, long racy finish with subtle concentration. Wow, this is at Grand Cru level really: superb. €18, £15.99 31 Dover.Each of these three Premier Cru wines really did have a very different smell, taste and texture. On to the Grands Crus then:2010 Grand Cru Les Clos - from a 1.5 ha plot. Rich butterscotch and oatmeal vs elegant 'green' edges, aromatic vs full-on; again has that lovely combo of concentrated and lush vs very taut crisp and steely mouth-feel, finishing with lightly toasted grainy texture vs butter and toffee vs super salty and long. Wow-er.2010 Grand Cru Les Vaudésirs - 2.6 ha. More lemony on the nose, tighter and 'chalkier'; quite powerful though underlined by taut acidity vs subtle richness, tasty and juicy vs savoury and complex, tight austere and zippy finish vs lightly toasty and nutty flavours. Needs time.2010 Grand Cru La Moutonne - 2.35 ha. More butterscotch and candied peel, toastier too perhaps, buttery vs zippy with toasted hazelnut finish vs salty, rounded and creamy vs taut and long. Classy.This fab tasting also highlighted what a great vintage (wacky even) 2010 is in Chablis, as you'll see from my notes on other producers' 2010s here and to follow in the next report (e.g. Alain Geoffroy, Louis Moreau, Jean-Francois Bordet...).La Chablisienne co-operative winery (8 Boulevard Pasteur, 03 86 42 89 89, www.chablisienne.com) isn't easily missed, standing large about five minutes walk down Avenue de la République from Chateau Long-Depaquit (turn right out of their gate and keep going, it's on the right on the way out of town). It was founded in 1923 (happy 90th birthday!) and is now the only co-op in Chablis; and has become something of a household name for this reason perhaps, as well as having rightly earned the reputation. There are 280 grower-members backed up by the kind of management, technical and marketing team you'd expect behind a successful winery of this size. Exuberant Brand Ambassador Hervé Tucki told us categorically that "we produce and sell everything ourselves, and we don't buy in any grapes or wine."La Chablisienne's holdings amount to 25% of the surface area under vine, about 1200 hectares, which is the source for 30 different labels sold worldwide. "And we have sites in all the Grands Crus except Valmur," he continued, "the growers are rewarded for working better in their vineyards," as is the norm at any co-op that wants to make good wines. Everything they do, from day to day work in the field to specific treatments, is logged in a diary and follows an established 'rule book' of best practice, overseen by the co-op's vineyard manager Arnaud Terrier. "We work with each grower to decide harvest dates based on analysis of the grapes, tasting and the weather." Unusually perhaps, each producer presses their own grapes, then the co-op fetches the must to the winery for fermentation. Hervé thinks this is better though, as "it avoids long queues of growers waiting here with their grapes (sitting out in the sun, or rain), and it would take longer to process such a big quantity all at once."All the must is tasted and analyzed when it arrives at the winery, and graded so each grower is paid on quality. "We do it by appellation and parcel by parcel. We apply different winemaking depending on each vintage, and make a lot of different blends rather than one big one." Hervé believes they own some of the best vineyards in Chablis, which "gives us many options: we make three different Fourchaumes, for instance." Apparently William Fevre is the only other producer with seven Grand Cru vineyards. Their vineyards have "a good mix of young to old vines too," also improving those blending options. "We don't like making Chardonnay wines either," Hervé added mischievously, "but Chablis wines made from Chardonnay." A common 'theme' around here, not surprisingly, and you can see what they mean, although producers with any sense should and do mention 'Chardonnay' on the back-label at least. "We do the malo-lactic fermentation (stifle that yawn) most of the time, and don't like to bottle the wines too early," he filled us in on a little more winemaking detail. "All the Premier and Grand Crus see oak, and some of the Chablis too." Vincent Bartement is head winemaker here.The co-op does still sell "small quantities in bulk" to winetraders in Beaune, but not for export. "La Chablisienne name is only used for the on-trade (in France anyway: e.g. Marks & Spencer puts it on their labels), otherwise we use different labels and names." It's also one of five co-ops behind the 'Blason de Bourgogne' brand, which was created especially for the retail trade and 65% of these wines are now exported to over 60 countries. "It has a good reputation in France in the restaurant sector too," Hervé continued, including listings in many Michelin starred places "which is important for us." The winery sells about 2.2 million bottles as La Chablisienne out of 6+ m overall. "Our focus is La Chablisienne label, but obviously we sell to lots of supermarkets in France and abroad." The modern facilities at this site have capacity to hold about two vintages worth of wine as well, more or less, which naturally makes that task a little easier.It's the wines' turn now to do the talking, which generally they do very well. Here's my notes on the ten Hervé picked from their obviously wide range. Apart from M&S and other bespoke labels, certain of these wines are available from these independents in the UK (approx £ prices stated below): Auriol/the Wine People (Hartley Wintney), Stevens Garnier (Oxford), Heritage Wine (Wickwar), Gerrard Seel (Warrington), Whitebridge Wines (Stone), Mill Hill Wines (London), Astrum Cellars (Mitcham), Nethergate Wines (Bury St. Edmunds), Cambridge Wine Merchants, Addison Wines (Telford), Morgenrot Group (Manchester), Inverarity Morton (Glasgow), The Vintner (London SW10).2011 Petit Chablis - aromatic zesty and 'chalky' (with a bit of SO2 on the nose), crisp and dry with nice juicy fruit and steely finish; quite one-dimensional but attractive clean simple style. €8 cellar door, £10.50-£122011 Chablis La Pierrelée - one of five Chablis labels they make, which Hervé thinks is "a classic style." Showing a little more peach and citrus, nice and juicy, zingy mouth-feel vs aromatic ripe melon fruit, crisp and dry finish; very nice style actually. €12, £12.50-£142011 Beauroy 1er Cru - enticing aromatic and honeyed nose, peachy too with light wood spice tones; chalky and zesty palate with coconut grain, hints of butter vs tight salty finish, tangy and long with a bit of weight too. Needs a little time to come together, fairly austere at the moment. €15, £15.502011 Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru - a touch closed up and austere to start, concentrated though with zesty vs creamy profile and ripe juicy melon fruit, lightly oily texture vs chalky/salty bite, fairly intense with crisp taut finish. Lovely style, definitely needs one to two years to show its true colours. €192010 Les Vénérables Chablis vieilles vignes (old vine selection) - very ripe, almost a botrytis note, quite exotic and buttery then nutty and rounded vs still steely, fairly intense with lovely savoury hazelnut flavours, rich and luscious almost vs taut and salty. Delicious wine. 2010 was a very warm vintage yet high in acidity (usually a paradox). €14, £15-£172010 Cote de Lechet 1er Cru - oatier and creamier, nutty hazelnut, nice and buttery vs steely mineral length, delicious almost toffee characters vs salty and very crisp. Yum. Again has that benchmark purity underneath. £15.50-£182010 Montmains 1er Cru - oilier and more honeyed, buttery vs very zesty and chalky, gentle creamy nutty flavours vs super zingy crisp and tight. Less up-front than the Cote de Lechet though, very different actually, that taut mouth-watering finish vs lingering nutty taste suggests it needs a few years; very good as well.2010 Mont de Milieu 1er Cru - touches of coconut and vanilla grain vs rich and concentrated, greener tinges too turning to butter, smokier and spicier with classic lush vs tight salty and austere finish. Closes up, less obvious with its lingering acid structure and texture.2010 Les Preuses Grand Cru - spicy coconut edged nose, lightly buttery too then tightens up, spicy oak touches vs nutty vs very tight and crisp; long austere finish, very concentrated though with well-handled oak treatment. £302009 Château Grenouilles Grand Cru Grenouilles - still quite closed on the nose initially, turns to rich hazelnut and oily honeyed side, toffee almost, then tightens up with crisp steely mineral bite, big vs tight mouth-feel, lovely complex combo of these elements. £40-£50 (depends on the vintage).William Fèvre has a very smart shop and tasting room back in the middle of town (10 rue Jules Rathier, 03 86 42 12 06, caveau@williamfevre.com; the cellar's on Avenue d'Oberwesel though, on the outskirts), where winery boss Didier Séguier hosted a tutored tasting from their wide range of Chablis (they produce about 350,000 bottles from their vineyards and another million from bought in grapes). The company has 51 hectares including 15 ha of Premier Cru and 15 of Grand Cru. "They aren't the biggest vineyards but the biggest holdings of Grands and Premiers Crus, which isn't bad!" Didier explained. This is largely due to William Fèvre, who, after studying at the very prestigious 'Ecole Nationale d'Administration' in Paris (dubbed the "President school" as any ultra-ambitious politician in the making or top civil servant graduates from here), launched himself into a high-profile career including working at the Finance Ministry, apparently encouraged by his family rather than going into wine."At the time," Didier continued, "people were getting rid of vineyards as it was too difficult with all the frost problems etc. So, while working there (in the 50s and 60s), he started buying up some of the best sites here in Chablis." When he was 70, in 1998, Fèvre's daughters weren't interested in continuing in the family business, so he sold it to the Champagne house Henriot. Mind you, he kept the vineyards though and rents them back to the company (wise man)! Same goes for the buildings housing this shop, the bistro next door (see below) and adjoining Hostellerie des Clos hotel & restaurant, which is leased by the proprietor. Fèvre was also "at the forefront of a 20 to 30 year campaign against fake Chablis. For example, he got the Japanese to sign an agreement (not to use the name)."Didier himself worked for Bouchard from 1992 and went to Chablis in 1998 with Henriot, when they bought the company; he's responsible for all their vineyards and cellar. He summed up the past three vintages, all very different: "2012 was difficult, but I've seen worse... more challenging when you're in the middle of converting over to organic obviously!" 2011 was "good for expressing each terroir, but not a great vintage for ageing like 2010." Fèvre's wines are available in the UK via importer John Fells or from Berry Brothers on-line; they're also widely exported elsewhere: go to their site for more info (click on link under photo above).Didier kick-started the organic farming process in 2005 in certain vineyards, such as Vaillons since "it's southeast facing and sunny with less disease pressure anyway." This was then extended to their "right bank vineyards" from 2010/11. "We're actually already 100% organic but not certified yet," he went on, "as we don't want to at the moment, in case we have a really difficult year. We still want good grapes, mildew can be a real problem here if it's very wet." But he does believe using organics gives "better expression of terroir and fruit... After six years (in Vaillons), I think we were getting better expression." But it's more labour intensive, of course: "In 1998, he had 14 people working per hectare; after two years, this increased to 22." All grapes are hand-picked too and manually sorted on tables. They ferment with "natural yeasts for Premier and Grand Cru wines and use cultured yeasts for Chablis." Refer to my notes on the wines tasted below for more comments on winemaking and each site.All 2011 vintage. €€€ = their shop prices.Petit Chablis - made from bought-in grapes (they don't have any vineyards in Petit Chablis). Aromatic zesty floral citrus with lees edges, quite 'chalky' zingy and lively with gentle fruit underneath; a bit lean perhaps. €9.30Chablis - again showing hints of yeast-lees with lifted lemon aromas, quite lean and steely with zesty chalky bite, a touch clunky perhaps although has some attractive juicy fruit. €12Vaillons 1er Cru - fairly steely with hints of SO2, gets richer with more toffee and toast on the palate vs yeast lees undercurrent, quite concentrated and tight, closes up or a little lacking? €24.50Mont de Milieu 1er Cru - bit of SO2 on the nose, turning to aniseed vs buttery, juicy and steely mouth-feel vs subtle lees (and toast?) Fair concentration yet taut and zesty; again is it just very tight at the moment or lacking something? Not so long in the end. €27Vaulorent 1er Cru (near Les Preuses) - a touch richer although still tinged with SO2? Tight mineral palate with zingy 'salty' bite, subtle concentration and juicy ripe fruit, steelier and longer and more structured, a tad more buttery too vs elegant finish; better but still missing something maybe... €33.50Valmur Grand Cru (top of the hill facing south, southeast and southwest) - Aromatic 'chalky' nose, gets peachier vs salty and tightly structured, long mouth-watering finish, closes up; needs time, although still seems to lack a bit of real concentration. €48Cote Bouguerots Grand Cru (in Bougros, which has two parts and they own half of it! Steeper and more southwest facing) - A touch fuller and richer, buttery and nutty vs tight and steely, has more weight and substance with subtle creamy fruit and intense salty finish. €48Clos Grand Cru ("Probably the most homogeneous of our sites, on top of the hill; half the vines were planted in the 40s by William's father.") - Fairly chunky with toffee and oats, rich and concentrated with toasted edges then tight steely and salty, fine long finish; obviously needs time, very good. €55I couldn't help feeling a little underwhelmed by these wines, given their reputation and prices, and I wasn't alone. A colleague on the trip came out saying: "I just remember the wines being a bit more exciting." Still, these were all 2011s, so a leaner although pretty vintage as has been commented on, and some of them are obviously too young to show that well at the moment...And a good place for lunch: La Feuillette Restaurant 132, 8 Rue des Moulins, 03 86 18 91 67, chablis.net/lafeuillette132. They offer three set menu options: €13.50 (three simple courses daily, no choice), €21.50 (good selection including their succulent 'joue de porc', pork cheek slow-cooked in wine) and €27.80 (quite fancy, more choice); and additional dishes a la carte bien sur. As for wines, we tried:2010 1er Cru Montmains from Denis Race, very nice style and drinking well now actually with ripe butter and toffee flavours, quite forward and creamy vs crisper and zestier side.2009 Irancy red 'cuvée Emeline' from Benoit Cantin made from Pinot noir and the César variety, aka Romain ("what did they ever do for us?" Ah, planted vines, I see...), which was fairly light and tart, a deep-coloured rosé style with some savoury fruit vs freshness. OK with the rich pork, not that nice on its own!1986 Grand Cru Les Preuses from Regnard tasted with three cheeses: Epoisses, Chaource and Soumaintrain (all cow and from the region). Oxidising nutty oaty nose with mushroom hints, full and honeyed and Fino edged, rich complex and savoury with still crisp and dry finish. Yum. Great with the Epoisses, which brought out more of those honey flavours, yet it had dry and steely bite to cut through it.A good place for dinner: Le Bistrot des Grands Crus, 8 Rue Jules-Rathier, 03 86 42 19 41, www.bistrotdesgrandscrus.com. Run by the same people behind the more famous Hostellerie des Clos (more on that in Part 3...), this affordable 'modern' style bistro, right next door to William Fèvre's shop, does three dishes for €21 (changed every other day) or a main and glass of wine for €10.50. Off the 'a la carte' menu, I had 'Croquettes de chèvre frais sur lit de salade' (filled with melted goat cheese) at €8.50, followed by 'Pochouse de poissons de rivière au Chablis' (selection of poached river fish) at €16.50, which were both good especially the fishy dish. And we sampled Jean-Francois Bordet's wines with the food, who joined us here for dinner (see next instalment for notes and some background).Coming soon on WineWriting.com then: Part 3 - Alain Geoffroy, Louis Moreau, Séguinot-Bordet and an elevated view of Chablis' vineyards with Eric Szablowski, to get a better picture and some insight on all these different complicated Premier and Grand Cru sites, where/what is Petit Chablis by the way etc...Lots more Chablis here by the way: http://www.winewriting.com/p/burgundy-chablis-pinot-noir-cremant.htmlRichard Mark James
