2013 Chablis Butteaux Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru

Wine Details
Place of Origin

France

Chablis

Burgundy

Color

White

Grape/Blend

Chardonnay

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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Drinking Window

2017 - 2026

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Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel was not the only Chablis winemaker who told me that the fruit in 2014 took a while to reach phenolic maturity. July and August brought a lot of rain (about 250 millimeters, according to Gicqueau-Michel) and there were mildew pressures late in the season; considerable millerandage also slowed down the ripening. The estate started harvesting on September 17, but the ripeness was uneven and some of the grapes were still hard despite their analytic maturity. In fact, the team stopped for three days in the middle of the harvest to wait for the skins to get riper, and eventually finished on October 1. Potential alcohol levels averaged about 12.3% and most of the wines were lightly chaptalized. The fermentations were long and Gicqueau-Michel did not keep much in the way of lees after a débourbage lasting 18 to 24 hours.

Two thousand thirteen brought the smallest estate-wide production on record here: 38 hectoliters per hectare. “It’s not a classic vintage but it’s a good one,” said Gicqueau-Michel, adding that the grapes were very ripe and that there was almost no chaptalization. The estate started harvesting on October 2 and went very quickly. Following 37 millimeters of rain on October 5, they rented a second picking machine and finished in three days flat. “Otherwise it would have been a disaster,” said Gicqueau-Michel, who advises drinking the 2013s early “while waiting for your 2012s and 2010s.”

Incidentally, this estate began using DIAM corks for its 2013 premier crus. But they selected the DIAM 5s, which are less dense than the 10s and are guaranteed for a shorter life span, because the Louis Michel wines typically start a bit reductive and austere.

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Drinking Window

2016 - 2016

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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.

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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).