2015 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

Two thousand sixteen brought a very small crop at this family estate, with yields between 20 and 25 hectoliters per hectare (and just 18 for the Valmur) due to the mix of hail, frost and mildew, according to winemaker Fabien Moreau. The Moreaus harvested between September 26 and October 2, bringing in their fruit with potential alcohol ranging from 11.5% to 12.5% and chaptalizing the lighter lots (Les Clos was left natural at 12.2%). Acidity levels were mostly between 3.8 and 4 grams per liter and pHs were healthy, said Fabien. Most of the ‘16s had been recently blended and moved into tanks at the time of my visit, but 20% of the Vaillons and Clos were still in oak.

Moreau offered a nuanced comparison between 2016 and 2015. He finds more minerality in general in the ‘16s and he prefers his Petit Chablis and Chablis in this vintage. “But the crus show more tension in 2015,” he told me. “They really turned out better than we expected, but the 2016s should also gain during their last months of élevage.” He noted that he was reluctant to estimate the potential aging curve of the ‘16s, as “with stressed vines, it’s hard to make a prediction about longevity.” While the 2015s can be enjoyed now for their fruit, he added, “they will be much more complex wines for the dinner table in five years.”

The Moreaus attacked their hail-hit parcels in Clos, Blanchots and their village plots in Les Pargues beginning on Thursday, September 3. The grapes in Les Clos, noted Fabien Moreau, were already at 12.5% potential alcohol and were only picked about three days earlier than they had originally planned. But after picking on the 4th as well, they stopped until the following Wednesday, as the maturity of some of their other vineyards had been slowed by hydric stress in late August. Still, noted Christian Moreau, 2015 was a very good growing season that brought ripe, healthy grapes; only a single parcel in Vaillons was chaptalized. Acidity levels in the post-malo wines are 3.5 to 4.0 grams per liter, compared to 4.0 to 4.5 in the 2014s. The Moreaus expect to bottle their 2015 a bit earlier than usual, with the main bottling taking place in January.

The 2014 growing season also brought some hydric stress in the very dry weeks leading up to the harvest, and the Moreaus noted that the moderate rainfall that occurred in the middle of the harvest helped both to jumpstart maturity and to bring down the high natural acidity in the grapes. (They had brought in their Vaudésir, Blanchots and Vaillons Guy Moreau before the rains.) Crop levels in 2014 averaged a moderate 39 hectoliters per hectare, lower than those of 2015.