2009 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

I tasted a wide range of wines during my visit at Domaine Laroche. The estate is back in the US market after an absence of several years. These are rich, textured wines that generally show the more opulent side of Chablis. Over the last few years, Domaine Laroche has begun to focus on organic viticulture and a greater reliance on indigenous yeasts, which is rare in Chablis. One of the unique aspects of these wines is that they are all bottled under screwcap. Winemaker Gregory Viennois told me the 2011 harvest started on September 12, which was towards the later side for the village. Viennois noted that potential alcohols and acidities were quite similar for both 2010 and 2011, which is quite unusual among the top domaines in Chablis.

Following the purchase in the fall of 2009 of all of Michel Laroche's wine ventures by the Languedoc-based negociant Jeanjean, there have been many changes in personnel here. Long-time Laroche winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye left in March, and Gregory Viennois, head viticulturalist and winemaker for Laroche's projects in Chablis, Languedoc, South Africa and Chile, was in charge here. (Just before press-time, Stephan Derenoncourt, consulting enologist for numerous Bordeaux properties, was hired for his viticultural know-how, as Laroche plans to return to making wines with wild yeasts.) According to Viennois, the 2010s here have more intense bouquets than the 2008s, "but a similar profile. The rot was spreading quickly in September, so we moved up our harvest by a full week," beginning on September 22. Laroche vinifies in about 30% oak barrels, one-quarter of which are new, then moves the wines into tank in June.

The Languedocnegociant and wine producer Jeanjean purchased all of Michel Laroche's wine business, including his operations in Chile, South Africa and the Languedoc, just before the harvest of 2009. But Denis de la Bourdonnaye is still making the wines at Domaine Laroche and reports that there have been no changes under the new owners. De la Bourdonnaye believes he made a classic style of Chablis in 2009. Laroche harvested on the late side, because "the fruit was close to ripe but still needed time," he told me. "Everyone was impatient." De la Bourdonnaye chose to wait for more ripeness, even sacrificing acidity, then added a bit of tartaric acid in the press. He describes the 2009s as "a blend of the rich, ripe, full 2005s and the more acid 2004s." As always, he emphasized that the 2009 crus he showed me were approximations of the final wines, and that the final blends would not be made until late June or July.