2012 Chablis Saint Martin

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).

Readers will find much to explore in this range from Domaine Laroche and its sister negociant label, called simply Laroche. One of the differences between the two ranges, other than of course provenance, is in elevage. The Domaine Laroche wines are partially or entirely done in 225 and 600 liter barrels, while the Laroche wines see no small wood, only cask. Because of the partial and/or whole vinification in oak, the Domaine Laroche and Laroche wines occupy a spot towards the richer end of the spectrum within Chablis. The 2012 harvest started on September 24 with Vau de Vey and ended on October 8 with Cote de Lechets and Bougros. I also tasted a number of 2012 1er and Grand Crus, but as is often the case here, those wines are hard to assess young because of the long lees aging favored by the domaine. The 2012s appear to have plenty of energy and resonance, but is still very early. Still, the entry-level wines bode well for the rest of the range. In the meantime, there is plenty to admire from the 2011s, a vintage Winemaker Gregory Viennois compares 2011 to 2005 for its spiced, slightly exotic personality. With their lower acidities and supple personalities, the 2011s will offer plenty of pleasure right out of the gate.

Winemaker Gregory Viennois finds the 2012s to be "more classic than the 2011s, a product of a cold maturity--a bit like the 2002s in that sense. But the wines are not vegetal or austere." It was a late harvest without dilution, thanks to a lot of coulure and millerandage, he added. The estate also did a lot of green harvesting. As in 2011, Domaine Laroche harvested quite late, in this case from September 24 through October 8, with potential alcohols of 12.4% and up and sound acidity levels. In 2011, Laroche harvested a big crop from September 10 through 23. "We needed to wait in order for the grape skins to ripen properly and to gain more structure," explained Viennois, who added that acidity levels were in the healthy 3.9 to 4.3 grams-per-liter range in 2011. He compared the 2011s to the estate's 2005s. Incidentally, Viennois told me that Laroche's new press is allowing him to get more dry extract "but without more fat" in the wines. The 2012 samples I tasted were all estate cuvees.