2012 Chablis Butteaux Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru

A late and protracted flowering took with it 30% of the potential crop in 2013 at Louis Michel. The village level and Grand Crus were affected most. August offered a brief respite until rain returned in September. Disease pressure was high throughout the year. Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel opted to start picking on October 2, on the late side for the year, but like everyone else, he had to juggle achieving ripeness before rot started setting, a delicate balancing act, to be sure. The 2012s, which I tasted from bottle, are impressive across the board. Yields were down about 18% across the board, but quality is high. As always, all of the wines are done entirely in stainless steel. Fermentations are on the long side, as Louis Michel works with natural yeasts, but the amount of lees contact has been shortened in order to keep as much freshness as possible.

Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel referred to the "global panic" prior to the 2013 harvest, as the region's growers tried to pick as much fruit as possible in a very narrow window in which the grapes were sufficiently ripe but the skins had not yet deteriorated markedly.This was no picnic!Domaine Michel began harvesting on October 2 and ultimately had average production of 39 hectoliters per hectare, but as little as 30 in its grand cru holdings, said Gicqueau-Michel.Potential alcohol levels ranged from 11.9% alcohol to 13.1%, and acidity levels following the malos are in the 3.5 to 4 grams-per-liter range.Gicqueau-Michel described 2013 as "a good terroir expression, with good material and acidity, but the wines will need time."He noted that he did not keep the lees in 2013.Two thousand twelve here is "very good, classic in style, shy now but showing strong terroir identity," he told me, adding that the crop was larger than that of 2013 but still lower than average, with the fruit coming in ripe, with no botrytis. Also recommended:2013 Chablis (85-87).Other wines tasted:2013 Petit Chablis (84-86).

Proprietor and Winemaker Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel describes 2012 as a long, stressful vintage, but one that produced classic wines. Frost was a big issue. Yields are down significantly, from -20% in Clos to -50% in Vaudesir and Grenouilles. The 2012 harvest started on September 28. As is the custom here, the wines were done entirely in steel, with ambient yeasts and no batonnage. Fermentations were lengthy and took 3 to 3.5 months to complete, although the malos started right after the alcoholic fermentations. In addition to these wines I also tasted the 2012 Les Clos, but it was very raw and therefore difficult to evaluate because of its protracted malolactic fermentation. In 2011, conditions were quite different. The plants responded to the stresses of 2010 by producing an ample crop. Harvest began on September 5. Overall, the 2011s are solid wines, but they are best enjoyed on the young side. A few of the 2011s show elements of dilution and/or greenness, but they are the minority. The 1er Crus were bottled in September and October 2012, while the Grand Crus were bottled in April 2013.

The pristine stainless steel-made wines of this important domain have improved dramatically over the past five or six years, coinciding with the switch to wild-yeast fermentations and the emergence of Jean-Loup Michel's nephew Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel as the new winemaker.In Guillaume's absence due to a trade event, I tasted with Jean-Loup, as I had done through the 1990s and early 2000s.He pointed out that the wild-yeast fermentations are longer, sometimes lasting until Christmas."For us, it's the equivalent of batonnage; it's like an elevage on the lees."Michel also told me that the estate is picking later these days than they did in the '90s."Previously my father often picked too early and yields were too high, as he did not remove the second-generation grapes."In fact, the 2012s and 2011s here struck me as quite pliant--a far cry from the austere and often metallic bottlings of years past.Michel considers 2012 "a good year, not atypical for Chablis."In comparison, he added, the 2011s have a bit more acidity and less alcohol, and are less concentrated:"They're for drinking on the young side." Also recommended:2011 Petit Chablis (86).