It was a beautiful day to be tasting crisp French white wines.
Thursday’s late February afternoon sun was firmly in the ‘summer is not over yet’ burn-y category and the small pack of French winemakers and local media who had descended upon a Sydney harbourside restaurant very much appreciated the sunshine and sparkly background (or at least I did).
The Burgundians were in town as part of the Bourgogne Wine Board’s (BIVB) ‘Take a Closer Look’ campaign, which seeks to broaden drinking horizons beyond the famous cru and into the lesser-known appellations. I was puzzled why they picked Australia as one of the few places to visit to help get the campaign out there until François Labet explained just how much we (down under) over-index on our Burgundy consumption.
Indeed, Australia is the 13th largest export destination for the wines of Bourgogne and the 9th biggest for Chablis, just to remind that we really like Chablis. Labet (who is head of the BIVB and on hand to talk wine) also appreciates that we, as a winemaking nation, still import lots of Burgundian wine – which is quite a contrast to the markets of a similar scale to Australia (like Japan or South Korea), which has minimal local wines as competition.
It was a pleasure to check in with a few rather classical styles at this tasting too. Professionally run (except for the lighting, which for some bizarre reason was set to ‘is that a wine bottle or a water jug’), the whites, in particular, shone (a reminder, again, that basic Chablis is a delicious drink) and the Bourgogne and lesser appellation reds had character, even if the VFM is very poor compared to Australian/Kiwi Pinot.
What was most fun was a lineup of four wines, served blind, that included a mix of Petit Chablis and Chablis releases. For the uninitiated, Petit Chablis is considered the lesser appellation, with the vineyards of this designation at the top of the hills/bottom of the slope and usually planted on stony Portlandian limestone (as opposed to the clay and fossil-rich Kimmeridgian limestone).
Petit Chablis, as a result, is usually less intense, if sometimes more light and linear, and cheaper than Chablis (to generalise), even though it’s basically just dirt and slope position as a divider. And this mini lineup reminded, again, that trying to pick out what comes off which soil type is bloody hard – so hard that Labet (who made one of the wines below) picked a Petit Chablis as a Chablis, just like I did.
All of this ‘let’s look at tiny differences in these fancy French wines’ might seem ridiculous to non-wine geeks, but it’s these contrasts and profound expressions of a place that make wine the greatest beverage on the planet.
The masterclass wines
(Please forgive the short notes – I was too busy guessing than nailing the flavours).
Chablis masterclass wine #1 Domaine 47°N3°E Petit Chablis 2022
I picked this as Petit Chablis -This has a little peachy weight and a certain sunniness. it just needs a bit more intensity – the flavours end up just a bit simple despite the obvious acidity. Drinkable, if straighforward. 16.8/20, 89/100.
Chablis #2 Petit Chablis? Bernard Defaix Chablis 2023
Damn. I crossed out my first Chablis pick as this looked a bit more sunny and open on second pass. The acidity is a more lemony and a bit more driving. It looks a bit young and stonefruity at first go, though. Acid underneath is right. Nice enough, if not a round wine. 17/20, 90/100
Chablis #3 Chablis? Petit Chablis. Domaine Vrignaud Petit Chablis 2022
Damn got me again. A little extra bottle age and a bit more stony linear flavours got me here – I kept thinking the tight linearity was from less clay rich soils. Dumb second guessing myself. Although, I’m forgiving myself a bit for the style here – it feels much more stony and classic. Enjoyable and quite refreshing – that minerally, story mode here. 17.5/20, 91/100.
Chablis #4 Chablis Lamblin Chablis Vielles Vignes 2022
Bang on and a significant step up. Acidity certainly flows the best of anything in this line. Much stonier. There’s this waxy reductive wet stone character here that is so classical and good. Just a little waxier and more classical acid intensity. Nice wine. 17.7/20, 92/100.
More wines
Alain Geoffroy Petit Chablis 2023
A bargain. Classic lines and has a nice tang to it. Can’t fault the style. A bargain. 17/20, 90/100.
Willing Fevre Petit Chablis 2023
Classical lines but you have to squint to see the intensity. I was disappointed. 16.5/20, 88/100.
Seguinot Bordet Chablis 2023
Painting in acidity but lovely tension. Lovely purity. 17/20, 90/100.
Clotilde Davenne Chablis 2023
Has an extra layer of interesting creaminess to the nose, despite the bare bones palate. Standout straightforward classicness. 17.5/20, 91/100.
Laroche Chablis 2023
Just a bit of funk and sunshine here. More white peaches, less mineral, but really rather enjoyable. 17.5/20, 91/100.
Louis Moreau Chablis Les 8 2022
Promises a lot and a lovely crystalline tight freshness to this. Maybe too taut, but a step above. 17.7/20, 92/100.
Raul Gautheron Chablis Pargues 2022
Oh the classical Kimmeridgian vibes are strong! Stony, with that whipped butter vibe to it. Lovely if still a tight and restrained thing. 17.7/20, 92/100.
Jean Dauvissat Terroir de la Chapelle Chablis 2022
Edgy and sharp with great lines but that also means a bit of an acid attack. Precise but hardly delightful. 17.5/20, 91/100+.
Famille Paquet Macon-Fuisse Les Bruyéres 2021
And now we’re in the Macon. This has some custardy wildness, hay, custard, lemon. A bit of yellow butter wildnes, although the palate doesn’t quite feels as cohesive – it sort of falls away into lemony custard land without a direct bite. Super interesting though and so complex! 17.7/20, 92/100.
Domaine La Vigne Mouton Macon-Bray Le Mouton Blanc 2021
A bit horsey and developed. Some nice nutty elements but dare I say that I see some Brett in there. Not great. 15.8/20, 86/100.
La Soufrandiere Macon-Vinzelles Le Clos de Grand-Pere 2022
Golden. A complex array of hay and cream and sulphides and oak. It’s not super clean but certainly charismatic. Oak tannins and a little bitter. Interesting, though. 17/20, 90/100.
Maison Verget Macon-Charnay Clos Saint-Pierre 2021
Lovely. Creamy sulphide funk, a crystalline palate underneath, it has width under the reduction too. Nice wine. 18/20, 93/100.
Verget Macon-Pierreclos En Tremblay 2022
Again, with the reduction and funk, it has some oak tannins in there, too. This could be a modern Australian Yarra white! Clean, peachy, has a great length. Only the oak tannis stops a gold. Really impressed. 18/20, 93/100.
David-Bienfait Macon-Bussieres 2022
A little diffuse but nice golden buttered yellow peach. Gets a little broad to finish. 16.8/20, 89/100.
Delfaud Macon-Verze 2022
A bit ho-hum. Golden peaks and it never rises beyond that peach easiness. 16.5/20, 88/100.
Oliver Morin Bourgogne-Chitry 2020
Now into the reds. Not a great start as this is so volatile. Can’t get past it. 15/20, 83/100.
Felettig Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2021
A bit horsey but you get a Burgundy character. Meh 16/20, 86/100.
Louis Jadot Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2021
Sausagey and dances with acidity and ripenesss. Tastes entry level and a bit thin, if Pinoty. 16.5/20, 88/100.
Grivot-Goisot Bourgogne Cotes d’Auxerre 2023
Red fruit. Malt. Smoky cherry pips. A ripeness struggle here and, ultimately, a thin Burgundy with a missing middle. Meh. 16.3/20, 87/100
Marc Cameron Bourgogne Epineul Sagara 2023
A bit firmish and lacks honest fruit. has nice crunch but ultimately thin. 16.5/20, 88/100.
Les Malandes Bourgogne Cotes d’Auxerre Blanc 2022
Has a bit of a Chablis limestone stoniness to it but with a white peach flourish. Clean, nice freshness, a bit of aftershave cream to it. Just a little lean, but really quite enjoyable and nice clean lines. 17/20, 90/100.
Roux Pere Bourgogne Cote d’Or Blanc 2020
From an appellation created in 2017. Quite golden and open with a nutty, creamy and slightly cheesy take despite it not rising above lightish and cris. That bottle age is heading in a mothball direction and the lemon creaminess fights the acid delicacy. Almost there. 16.5/20, 88/100.
Louis Latour Macon-Lugny Les Genievres 2022
Feels a bit generic and peachy – a bit of fly spray and musky white nectarine flavour and slightly shrill stonefruit and lemony acid. Despite the 100% malo it is really quite shrill. You would never call this Burgundian – it’s more like something from the Ardeche. That aromatic blitz is interesting, but its just acidity rather than real intensity. I don’t see the quality here. 16.3/20, 87/100.
Joseph Burrier Macon-Milly-Lamartine Montagne de Cras Domaine de la Rochette 2023
A bit of musky butter here too. Yeasty, with a bit of nectarine and straw with a lagery barley note. It’s quite candied, even. But its disguising a rather thin palate with a sour tutti fruity contrast. Shrill finish. 16.3/20, 87/100.
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2 Comments
Andrew – hard to see anything here that makes me want to rush out and buy any of them, especially the reds. And that’s without knowing prices. Or are the French trying to flog us their rejects??
That’s the challenge with Burgundy – the bottom tier is often indifferent. You can get much better in the new world, every day.