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Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre(2002)
- Winery:
- Domaine William Fèvre
- Varietal:
- Chardonnay
- Region:
- France > Burgundy
- Type:
- White Wine
- User Tags:
- dried, hay, fruit, clean, mineral, yellow, harvest, rich, color descriptors, acidic
Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Puligny-Montrachet Les Demoiselles 1er Cru 2002
SnoothRank: 4
US $120.00
- Burghound
- Issue 12, Oct 01, 2003
- 89/100
-
May 2008
- The rise in quality here since Joseph Henriot acquired the domaine in 1998, also owner of Bouchard Père et Fils in Beaune, has been nothing short of meteoric. The Domaine now exploits fully 50 ha, 15 ha of which are in 6 of the 7 grands crus, another 12 ha of 1ers and 23 more ha in Chablis villages, all now capably managed by régisseur Didier Séguier. He describes the 2002 vintage as having a correct summer but not better with an August that was a bit more propitious. September by contrast began with a cold and dry north wind that dried the grapes so severely that 10 to 20% of the juice was lost, according read more...to Séguier. The effect of this evaporation though was to concentrate both sugar and acidity and he went on to suggest that it resulted in the richness of 1998 with the minerality of 2000 but not the austerity. 2002 is fruitier and already more accessible than 2000. Séguier also told me that the harvest was absolutely ideal with a perfect harvest and no rot. We still did a triage not for rot but rather to make sure that there was uniform ripeness. We applied for a dérogation (an exemption to begin the harvest earlier than the ban de vendange) that permitted us to begin the harvest 3 days in advance because we noticed that acidities were falling like a stone. We began to harvest on the 20th in Vaillons, Valmur, Vaudésir and Les Clos and then rotated through each vineyard in succession at least twice and in the more steeply sloped parcels, 3 times. Yields ranged from a low of 30 hl/ha to a maximum of 50 hl/ha and sugars were between 12.5 and 13.1% potential alcohol and because we began earlier than most, we preserved solid acidities. The alcoholic fermentations started easily and took between 15 and 30 days to finish while the malos were done between January and April, depending on the wine. The Fèvre 2001s, as a group, have turned out very well and are among the finest wines of the vintage. Séguier said that he elected to shorten the élevage period to between 10 and 12 months to preserve freshness whereas the bulk of the 2002s will not be bottled until November and December, which is 14 to 15 months of barrel aging. In short, the 2001s completely transcend the quality of the vintage and are almost as good as the 2002s, if stylistically quite different. I've also recently revisited a few of the Fèvre 2000s and they have completely shut down and are quite austere at this juncture so be sure to have patience with them as they require time in the bottle to realize their considerable potential. Note: there is also a Fèvre négociant operation but all the wines reviewed here, including the Chablis villages are from the Domaine. The négoce side of the house also issues the 7th grand cru, Blanchot, which it buys in as fruit and then controls the entire production process from that point. (Cliquot, Inc., New York, NY; there are a number of distributors in the UK, including Berry Bros & Rudd, Charles Taylor Wines and Waverley Vintners). Note: from 1/3 Pied d'Aloup and the rest from Chapelot and Séguier commented that he believes the '02 is the best example of this vineyard that he's made in his 5 years with Fèvre Intense oyster shell, iodine and green fruit aromas lead to mouth coating, rich, pure and wonderfully intense flavors of considerable power and this has the size, weight and length of a grand cru. This should be capable of aging for years and is very impressive. (hide)
