2014 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

Domaine Laroche started harvesting on September 2, right after the hailstorm, but Technical Director Grégory Viennois noted that the grapes were ripe and that the estate had originally decided to begin on the 3rd. “It was a warm year but without stress thanks to well-timed rainfall,” he told me. “Yields were higher than in 2014 but not huge. We decided to pick _al dente _in 2015, to retain acidity. The skins were thick but not green and had a lot of tannins, phenolic material and dry extract. But the pulp was also very ripe and aromatic. “ The post-malo acidity levels range from 4. 0 to 4.3 without acidification (or any blocked malolactic fermentation) and Laroche did not chaptalize in 2015. The wines are generally around 12.5% alcohol, but more like 12.8% for the Clos.

Production levels in 2014 ranged from 29 to 35 hectoliters per hectare, but just 24 or 25 for the grand crus. “Two thousand fourteen is a very classic, aristocratic vintage,” said Viennois, “and likely to be as long-lived as 1996. Two thousand ten is better balanced but less ripe and precise. There is no perfection but 2014 was close.” He went on: “We took a full two weeks to harvest and we picked slowly.” He noted that the period of rain in the middle of the harvest helped the grape skins ripen and soften in Montmains, Homme Mort and Les Clos; before the precipitation, he added, “we had a lot of tannins and phenolics.”

Technical Director Grégory Viennois is convinced that there will be two or three styles of wine in 2014, although he believes that the vintage was best “for late pickers who waited for fully ripe aromas.” Domaine Laroche started harvesting its 90 hectares of Chablis vines on September 14 but did not finish until September 29, as their vines in Fourchaume and L’Homme Mort “needed the late rain to ripen the skins.” As a rule, though, the berries were a healthy pale yellow, and acidity levels were a gram higher than those of 2013 across the board--“as high as 5.2 but not green,” according to Viennois. Cellarmaster Stéphane Barras made approximations of the final 2014 blends for my tasting.

The 2013s here have turned out very well. The team did a drastic selection in the vineyards and again for the final blends, and the eventual production was the smallest in 30 years. The élevage began with a smaller quantity of fine lees and less cold stabilization was necessary. Cellarmaster Barras noted that beginning in September of 2014, the wines became purer and more precise. Still, said Viennois, “the fruit in 2013 is about peach and flowers, not minerals. The wines are more open than the 2014s but not really exotic.” The harvest began on October 1 and was finished in eight days; normally it takes two weeks. “The fruit was green before the 1st,” noted Viennois.