WTN: Another First! More Irony?

Recolte 2003 La Chablisienne Chablis Premier Cru Mont De Milieu 13%alc.

This is my first time to try Premier Cru Chablis (the real stuff, I guess)! So what's my first impression? ---I'm not that impressed. I thought Chablis was supposed to be this unoaked-acid_driven-mouth-watering-type Chardonnay-alternative to, well -- Chardonnay! But I guess my expectations were too high. My wine merchant is closing out the vintage at 1/2 price ($16) and I thought, wow, a $32 Premier Cru at half price! He told me that I'd better buy two, so I did. (This is another element to this seeming irony because I've never been mislead by my "wine man".) Anyway, I taste tested it tonight to see if it was something I wanted more of right? Nay, nay! Don't think I'll be buying any more of this stuff any time soon. Don't get me TOTALLY wrong here! I hope I'm not painting too dismal a picture. I wasn't NASTY or ROTTEN, it just didn't seem to fit the "Chablis Premier Cru" bill. The nose was great - lightly floral with pineapple and citrus, but the palate was a flabby followup - hardly any acidity Strict taste-wise it was just fine, but mouth-sensation wise it was a flop - quite soft and structure-less.

Would appreciate any direction leading to what I hear, read, and believe should be great Chablis!



P.S. Any comparable New World counterparts?

Recolte 2003 La Chablisienne Chablis Premier Cru Mont De Milieu 13%alc. ...
but the palate was a flabby followup - hardly any acidity Strict taste-wise it was just fine, but mouth-sensation wise it was a flop - quite soft and structure-less.

Sounds very much like a product of the difficult 2003 vintage. As a big generalization, a year to avoid.

I thought Chablis was supposed to be this unoaked-acid_driven-mouth-watering-type Chardonnay-alternative to, well -- Chardonnay!

It is. As Cam says, 2003 is the culprit here. La Chablisienne is a fair co-op with fair prices so don't give up on them, just try another year. Also, avoid pre-2002 Fèvres if the quote above is the style you like, but the recent ones are great.

-O-

Bah! What do these guys know!


You should have talked to me: Chablis sucks dood.

The Moreau family produces some good efforts, but I consider it a situation where two guys with great talent are raising the medium (like a great sculpter still making something interesting out of Playdough).

There's never a need to drink Chablis; want acid? want complexity? want purity? Chablis is a jack of all trades and master of none. Other white Burgundy ranges from better to similarly *yawn*, though Macon is where I find the value.

Sorry for you to learn this way...

Best,
Joe

[Jenise]

Aaron, for years Chablis was on my "I don't get it list". Now I wasn't judging it by hot years like 03, but they all tasted like someone added gasoline. Then I tasted a particularly fine, well aged Chablis, which changed everything. That's what it may take for you, too.

[David M. Bueker]

Don't listen to Joe. He doesn't like anything that isn't red and oxidized.

2003 is an awful year for Chablis. 2002 was outstanding, and 2004 is bright and nervy, though not in the same league as 2002.

Try some Gruner Veltliner for an alternative to Chardonnay.

[James Roscoe]

Don't listen to Joe.

Is there a subliminal message you are trying to get across David?

Bah! What do these guys know!


You should have talked to me: Chablis sucks dood.

The Moreau family produces some good efforts, but I consider it a situation where two guys with great talent are raising the medium (like a great sculpter(sic!) still making something interesting out of Playdough).

There's never a need to drink Chablis; want acid? want complexity? want purity? Chablis is a jack of all trades and master of none. Other white Burgundy ranges from better to similarly *yawn*, though Macon is where I find the value.

Sorry for you to learn this way...

Best,
Joe

I was almost tempted to write this. I find that a good Muscadet will do all and more than Chablis will. But I restrained myself - because on occasion I do prefer the different body that Chardonnay gives.

Bah! What do these guys know!


You should have talked to me: Chablis sucks dood.

The Moreau family produces some good efforts, but I consider it a situation where two guys with great talent are raising the medium (like a great sculpter(sic!) still making something interesting out of Playdough).

There's never a need to drink Chablis; want acid? want complexity? want purity? Chablis is a jack of all trades and master of none. Other white Burgundy ranges from better to similarly *yawn*, though Macon is where I find the value.

Sorry for you to learn this way...

Best,
Joe

I was almost tempted to write this. I find that a good Muscadet will do all and more than Chablis will. But I restrained myself - because on occasion I do prefer the different body that Chardonnay gives.

Who does a good Muscadet in your opinion, Otto?

Chablis fan here. Joe knows not of what he is talking. The culprit is 2003. My rule, buy nothing from 2003, anywhere. May end up throwing a few babies out with the wash but not a bad generalization.
Walt

Chablis fan here. Joe knows not of what he is talking. The culprit is 2003. My rule, buy nothing from 2003, anywhere. May end up throwing a few babies out with the wash but not a bad generalization.
Walt

Is there a website that gives "heads up" on bad (or good for that matter) vintages. Especially something as blatant and drastic as the '03 vintage obviously is?

[David M. Bueker]

Chablis fan here. Joe knows not of what he is talking. The culprit is 2003. My rule, buy nothing from 2003, anywhere. May end up throwing a few babies out with the wash but not a bad generalization.
Walt

Is there a website that gives "heads up" on bad (or good for that matter) vintages. Especially something as blatant and drastic as the '03 vintage obviously is?

This one does a good job.

Chablis fan here. Joe knows not of what he is talking. The culprit is 2003. My rule, buy nothing from 2003, anywhere. May end up throwing a few babies out with the wash but not a bad generalization.
Walt

Is there a website that gives "heads up" on bad (or good for that matter) vintages. Especially something as blatant and drastic as the '03 vintage obviously is?

This one does a good job.

Caught me sleeping there, David.
This website OBVIOUSLY does a good job.
I'm extremely grateful for the insight our forumites are willing to impart to the less fortunate like myself.
Thanks again, Aaron.

Aaron, your retailer did you no favor by turning you on to a 03 Chablis. A very poor vintage and I'm sure he knew it. Perry has a major crevice in his palate, pay no atention to him. By the way ITB.

They're trying to lead you astray, Aaron.

Jackals.

All Chablis from every vintage is like the Shih Tzu; it's an abomination of nature.

You might as well blow your nose with $20 bills as spend any more money on 1er Cru Chablis.

The 2003 may have actually been a boon, since it might have made the wines taste atypical.

Best,
Joe

p.s. one thing to remember about vintage charts, is that they all depend on who the author is. Vintages like 2003 or 1997 in Europe are considered the bee's knees by some critics.

[David M. Bueker]

Joe, Joe, Joe...

Lead us not into white Rioja, and deliver us from Ribera del Duero.

I was drinking a Grand Cru Chablis the moment the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, so it cannot be all bad.

Other white Burgundy ranges from better to similarly *yawn*, though Macon is where I find the value.

What are some examples of value, Joe?

Well, the Jadot Macon "Chameroy" I'm sipping as I type is pretty nice at $9 a bottle.

Rijckaert is my "rock on" Macon producer, though.

[David M. Bueker]

Rijckaert is my "rock on" Macon producer, though.

Macon is in Iceland?

Bjork loves good Macon.

Who does a good Muscadet in your opinion, Otto?

Some of my favourites have been Ecu/Bossard, Ch de Coing de St-Fiacre's unoaked one, and Ch de Chasseloir Cuvée des Ceps Centenaires. The Loireheads of the board will have others to recommend that are probably better than these but which I've not managed to find.

-O-

The Loireheads of the board will have others (Muscadets) to recommend that are probably better than these but which I've not managed to find.

Go for it Loireheads! Don't be shy.

[Robin Garr]

Go for it Loireheads! Don't be shy.

Dan, I'm not a Loirehead at the level of some of our resident geeks, but I do love a good, crisp, minerally Muscadet, and two of my favorites - both stocked at Chambers Street - are the various bottlings from <b>Domaine de la Pepière</b> and <b>Pierre et Monique Luneau-Papin</b>.

Go for it Loireheads! Don't be shy.

Dan, I'm not a Loirehead at the level of some of our resident geeks, but I do love a good, crisp, minerally Muscadet, and two of my favorites - both stocked at Chambers Street - are the various bottlings from <b>Domaine de la Pepière</b> and <b>Pierre et Monique Luneau-Papin</b>.

Are you or anyone on the forum privy to any New World Chablis's or Muscadet's modeled after the Old World style? Just curious cuz the Western Hemisphere has some pretty darn good wine going on nowadays!