2002 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

Production for this domain was down 35% to 40% in 2003 due largely to frost, which was worst in Valmur and Les Clos but also caused crop losses in the upper, unprotected portions of Vaillon.Despite the low crop level from the start, the Moreaus carried out their normal crop thinning in June.The domain's vineyards, which with one exception are over 45 years of age, then stood up to the heat relatively well, according to Christian Moreau. The Moreaus started picking on August 27, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol in the high 12.5% to 13.9% range.According to Fabien Moreau, who is now in charge of winemaking, the debourbage was longer in 2003 as he wanted to cool down the musts. (In 2002 there was almost no cold settling, as the juice following the gentle pressing was extremely clean and included barely 2% lees.)The Moreaus did very little batonnage in either vintage, as both years brought material that was rich from the start. In addition to adding tartaric acidity to the musts, Moreau pere et fils blocked part of the malolactic fermentation in their Vaillon and Clos to preserve freshness; Christian Moreau has a long history of using this strategy in hot years.

Christian Moreau's choice holdings, including parcels in the grand crus Clos, Valmur, Vaudesir and Blanchot, reverted back to him after the 2001 harvest. (The negociant Boisset, who purchased the old J. Moreau & Fils operation several years ago, had use of Moreau's vineyards for five years.) I have a new life at 60," said Moreau with glee, noting that his son Fabien had taken over winemaking in the Moreaus' modern new facility, and that the father-and-son team was harvesting all their fruit by hand. Moreau is high on the 2002 vintage. We started the harvest on September 23 and enjoyed great weather," he told me. The village fruit came in with potential alcohol of around 12.4%, the Vaillons was 12.7% to 13.4%, and the grand crus ranged from 12.8% to as high as 14%." The Moreaus did a strong ebourgeonnage to hold the grand cru yields to just 50 or 51 hectoliters per hectare. The pressing with their gentle Bucher press was particularly slow in 2002, as the grapes had little juice. As there was a relatively low percentage of the grosser lees, the wine was cold-settled for no more than 15 hours, without being fined and with limited SO2 additions. Fermentation took place in a combination of stainless steel cuves and barriques The malos were over by Christmas, at which point the Moreaus stopped stirring the lees. The Vaillons had been pre-filtered in advance of its imminent bottling, while the other wines were slated for bottling in September or October. Incidentally, the Moreaus' 2001s are from purchased grapes and/or must, but all of the 2002 crus are from estate fruit.