2012 Chablis Fourchaume Héritage 1er Cru

Wine Details
Place of Origin

France

Chablis

Burgundy

Color

White

Grape/Blend

Chardonnay

Reviews & Tasting Notes

00

Drinking Window

2018 - 2029

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Still far too vigorous to retire, Michel Laroche undertook this new operation (2012 was the first vintage) with his family as soon as he got back vineyards following the sale of Domaine Laroche to the Languedoc-based négociant Jeanjean in late 2009. He began with 8 hectares and now has 18.5, the youngest of which is 30 years old. Laroche made four wines in 2012, including three levels of quality in Fourchaume, the top one, called "Heritage," coming from "pre-clones" planted between 75 and 80 years ago. There was also a Vieilles Vignes bottling from two hectares of vines planted in 1970, with the rest of the fruit going into a regular Fourchaume. His aim at his new operation, based in a new winery on the outskirts of Chablis, is to make his two top wines "with energy and tension: not wines for drinking tomorrow."

In 2013, he picked his "regular" Fourchaume vines before the damaging early-October rains, "but the rest rotted totally within two days," and he decided not to bottle either the Vieilles Vignes or the Heritage. A few of the 2014s had not yet finished their malolactic fermentations at the time of my visit at the begininning of June, but Laroche was quite high on this vintage, as he believes the grapes offered a unique combination of acidity, sugar and flavor intensity. Laroche vinifies with native yeasts, using a pied de cuve to start the fermentations.

Incidentally, Laroche was downright heroic to make our appointment. He had just returned from Peru the previous day after spending a week in the hospital. Visiting Lake Titicaca, he flew off his motorcycle and did a face-plant on a stone road. While his helmet probably saved his life, it did not quite protect the middle of his face and he suffered a broken nose and some lost teeth.