2007 Chablis Les Clos

Very creamy nose, almost buttery. Nutty citrus. Very crisp, tense and great concentration in a linear yet powerful style and then greater richness and length. Great tension and well structured, some tannin. (JH)

The Moreau 2007 Chablis Les Clos mingles fresh white peach, rhubarb, orange zest, and vanilla in the nose, and comes to the palate with a corresponding sense of invigoration, refreshment and tart, pungent chew, even as one registers a distinct sense of underlying chalk and stone. Les Clos is not about richness (except of extract) this year, and Moreau’s dense Clos underscores that point. Utilizing a technique reminiscent of Meursault’s Patrick Javillier, Moreau reports that he vinifies three separate lots with different barrel and lees regimens to enhance the complexity of the final, blended wine. There is a severity and practically blazing intensity to the finish that’s not loveable, but certainly is formidable. I’d give this several years in the bottle, and would not anticipate it fading inside of a decade. I confessed in issue 179 to my difficulties in entirely appreciating the vinous results of Christian and Fabien Moreau’s clearly enormously quality-conscious and diligent efforts (described there in some detail), especially in view of awkwardly detached notes of oak and sometimes of lactic acidity. The nature of the 2007 vintage seems to have mitigated this somewhat, and the vivacity of these wines as a group is noteworthy and highly encouraging. I was given a fascinating opportunity this spring to taste the four earlier vintages of Moreau Les Clos, and while unconvinced by its three predecessors, I found the 2006 more elegant and refined, with its woodiness a bit toned down from when I reviewed it in issue 179, although it betrays some heat. Fabien Moreau says he targets 12.5% as an ideal measure of alcohol, which required chaptalizing his 2007s slightly, so the richness and body that these wines exhibit does not come from there. Picking commenced here September 6 because, Fabien Moreau maintained, his fruit was ripe by then. Beginning with 2008, the wines will all – at least, in principle – be fermented exclusively with indigenous yeasts, as was already the case with most of the 2007s, and the viticulture regimen will continue to move in a biodynamic direction. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Pale, bright yellow. Knockout nose projects lemon oil, crushed stone, spices and minerals. As creamy as this is in the mouth, it's most notable for its sheer energy and verve, with lemon and crushed stone flavors that pulsate in the middle palate and on the very long aftertaste. A classic vintage for this wine. Christian Moreau reminded me that the family's major parcel of Clos goes from the bottom to the top of this grand cru. Fabien does three different vinifications before blending the lots at the end. Part of this cuvee went back into barrels for five months following the racking after the malolactic fermentation.