2013 Chablis Les Vaudevey 1er Cru

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.

Laroche makes a wide range of wines from some of the top sites in Chablis. The estate wines are sold under Domaine Laroche, while the negociant wines are labeled simply Laroche. For the sake of clarity, I have listed both sets of wines separately. Readers should note that wines from some vineyards are bottled under both labels, so it pays to be careful as to which wines are being offered in the market. I tasted a wide range of 2012s and 2013s with winemaker Gregory Viennois and his team on my last visit. The 2012 harvest started on September 24 and ended on October 8. Bouguerots, Côte de Lechet and Vaudevey were among the first parcels to be harvested. By comparison, the 2013 harvest started on October 1 and ended on the 10th, which is to say late and compressed. Viennois adds that the last phase of ripening happened quickly, as the vines were carrying low crop loads, so the choice of picking date was critical. Overall, the 2013s have slightly higher acidities than the 2012s at Laroche, which is the inverse of what I found virtually elsewhere. As always, Laroche excels with wines built on texture. All of the 1er and Grand Crus are raised in oak, which gives the wines much of their shape. Incidentally, 2012 is the last vintage Laroche bottled under screwcap, going forward all of the 1er and Grand Crus will be bottled under cork.

According to technical director Gregory Viennois, as of 2012 Domaine Laroche cut back drastically on its use of SO2, relying more instead on CO2 and nitrogen before bottling. The result will almost certainly be wines with less early hardness than previously. Viennois prefers the finished 2012s to the 2010s here, which he said included some overripe fruit and a bit more noble rot. The estate harvested over a period of two full weeks in 2012 (September 24 through October 8), with the crus brought in by hand during the first week. Potential alcohol levels were in the 12.2% to 13% range and the wines were not chaptalized. The 2013 harvest took place during the first ten days of October. Judging from my early look at the estate's premier crus, the new vintage possesses less flesh, depth and ripeness than the 2012s but displays the intensity that comes from low yields. Also recommended: 2013 Chablis Saint-Martin (85-87).