2022 Chablis Vaillon 1er Cru Cuvée Guy Moreau

Fabien Moreau welcomed me to his winery’s tasting room, where he prepared samples from both 2022 and 2023 as usual. “On the volume side, the 2023 vintage is very nice,” he told me. “It is the fourth time in 21 vintages with my father that we made what you call a ‘full harvest’. It was the same volume as in 2011. It was the first vintage without frost or hail, and we had rain at the right period. Flowering took place at the end of June, and afterward, it was very dry, but there was enough water to achieve maturity with 40mm of rain around August 25. We started picking September 11 after two very hot weeks, which helped in terms of concentration, although acidity tumbled away quickly. We cropped 60 to 68hl/ha and sorted the juice under the press, getting rid of the finale rich in potassium as I don't like to acidify at all.” Comparing the two vintages, I err toward 2022 over 2023; the former is just imbued with a little more tension and complexity, although hats off to their Clos des Hospices 2023, which has a seductive leesy finish.

"The 2022 vintage was a good result,” winemaker Fabien Moreau tells me in his tasting room. “We did have some frost, not like in 2021, between 20-25% of the buds were burnt. But the second generation was very productive, and 150mm of rain in June prevented hydric stress. We started the picking on September 1, and then we had some rain during the night in the following days that diluted some of the fruit towards the end of the picking. So, we harvested all the Grand Crus at the beginning of the harvest and half the Vaillons, before those rains. In the end, we averaged around 52hL/ha, better than we expected. Everything is between 12% and 13%, with less malic acid than in 2021. The wines are well balanced.”

Then, I move the conversation to the previous vintage, a completely different kettle of fish. “There is no Petit Chablis in 2021 [as it was decimated by frost]. We cropped at around 21hL/ha subject to the parcel. That’s without frost protection. For Les Clos and Hospices, we had 38hL/ha with frost protection using wax candles. We also protected 1.5 hectares in Les Vaillons, but the rest of the climat was just 10hL/ha due to the early bud break and frost. We started picking on September 20, and it was strange to be picking later and seeing old analysis readings. We had to chaptalize, but not the Les Clos. For example, Vaudésir, where we began the picking, was just 11.7% even though we had only three barrels. I sold more used barrels than usual, but obviously, we had to keep some for 2022, and the maximum length of time the barrels stayed empty was five months. The vinification was pretty normal, with everything done by March. The bottling for the 2021s in two weeks and the Grand Crus next January or February.”

Moreau is a producer that deserves more kudos. Their 2022 Chablis Valmur is quite brilliant, displaying immense precision, and throughout their range, there is a sense of assured, clever winemaking that makes them very consistent between cuvées.