2015 Chablis Saint Martin

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.”