2011 Chablis Clos des Hospices
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Tasting Notes
There is a bit more wood in evidence compared to the "regular" Les Clos cuvée though not so much that it restrains one's ability to appreciate the otherwise fresh, cool and classic Chablis-suffused nose. There is excellent concentration to the powerful and extract-rich big-bodied flavors that possess an almost chewy texture before terminating in a gorgeously long, dry and well-balanced finish. In much the same fashion as 2012, this is bigger and more robust than the regular Les Clos though it will also require up to a decade to be at its best. Tasted: Oct 15, 2013. Drink: 2017+
Critic Scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The entirely barrel-matured Moreau 2011 Chablis Les Clos des Hospices features bittersweet floral perfume over a base of lime and Rainier cherry, laced with salt and chalk. Substantial and – as is typical of this bottling – somewhat opaque in palate impression, it brings notes of lanolin and vanilla along with persistence of liquid floral perfume and mineral impingement to a sustained finish, if one lacking quite the clarity, energy, or refreshment exhibited by certain of the best wines in the present collection. I would look to follow this through 2018. ||Christian and Fabien Moreau – for more about whose evolution consult inter alia my reports on their 2008s in issues 179, 186 and 191 – are now confidently in command of their medium and style, managing to derive richness and structure from contact with lees and oak for the most part without sacrificing the mineral dimension or refreshing primary juiciness nor the sense of clarity for which Chablis at its striking best is known. Among the success factors at what has already become one of the poster children for a new Chablis quality-consciousness are a distinctively different assortment of barrels and tonneliers as well as a tendency to permit an increased share of the wines’ elevages to take place in tank. But vineyard work – now organic – is almost certainly also playing an important role in the Moreau’s success story, and their notably successful 2011s perfectly illustrate Fabien Moreau’s own assessment that “apropos the level of tension exhibited in our wines, our pH levels have been dropping the last couple of years.” The Moreaus waited until late September to commence picking in 2012, and by the time selectivity and this team’s rigorous viticultural regimen was added to the vicissitudes of the vintage, yields were way down, in extreme cases (notably Blanchots) by well more than half vis-a-vis 2011 and long-term norms. They intend to bottle both Vaillons cuvees, as usual, ahead of the next harvest, but not until September given that 2013 will be late, and the grand crus, as usual, in January. Wine Advocate.August, 2013
The 2011 Chablis Les Clos Clos des Hospices is the richest and most textured of the Moreau wines. Tropical fruit, spice, honey and tangerine peel blossom with uncommon grace in an explosive, full-bodied Chablis. Mineral notes appear on the finish, adding considerable energy and tension to balance some of the wine's more overt leanings. August 2013. www.vinous.com