2021 Chablis, Forêts, 1er Cru, Louis Michel & Fils, Burgundy
Critics reviews
Forêts was badly frosted unfortunately. Pale lemon and lime. The bouquet is more closed here, wants to be mineral but currently reticent. But it has a fine thread of citrus lined stoniness across the palate. Not massive but nicely poised.
Drink 2024 - 2028
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (June 2022)
Once again, this could be from nowhere else but Chablis, with its array of citrus confit, quinine, ocean spray and oyster shell whiffs. The mouthfeel of the middleweight flavours is markedly different as it's smooth to the point of creaminess, yet there is still reasonably good detail on the nicely dry and solidly persistent finish. This needs to develop better depth but that should happen if it's given a chance.
Drink from 2027 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (October 2022)
Aromas of honeycomb, toasted nuts, white flowers, and sweet citrus preface Michel's 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Forêts, a medium- to full-bodied, satiny, and incisive wine that's elegantly textural, with tangy acids and a saline finish. This is an electric young Chablis that will repay bottle age.
Drink 2025 - 2035
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (September 2023)
Louis Michel's Les Forêts comes from a site where the limestone bedrock lies very close to the surface. Notes of gun flint are much more evident, with a touch of smoky, reductive characters. On the palate, there are lime/lemon zest flavours. This is a very complex, interesting, and appealing premier cru with no shortage of density and one which will age very well.
Drink 2024 - 2028
Andy Howard MW, Decanter.com (October 2022)
About this WINE
Domaine Louis Michel
Prior to 1970 all the wines from this domaine were fermented and matured in old oak barrels. By 1980 the old oak had been thrown out and the domaine had switched entirely to stainless steel. Today the domaine is run by Jean-Loup Michel and is widely recognised as the prime exponents of unoaked Chablis in the region.
It has 21 hectares of vineyards, mainly Premier and Grand Cru. The grapes are fermented at low temperatures in order to preserve their aromatic freshness and so that they may amply reflect the origins of their respective vineyard sites. These are crisp, intensely flavoured wines that display what heights the Chardonnay grape can achieve in its purest and unadorned form and without the intrusion of oak.
Chablis Premier Cru
Chablis Premiers Crus are stylish, minerally wines which, typically, are less intense than the Grand Crus but finer and longer-lasting than basic Chablis. They are highly underrated with the better examples outclassing many a good village white Burgundy.
The vineyards cover 750 hectares, scattered across 15 communes on isolated slopes with good exposure. There are 17 principal Premiers Crus but in total 79 vineyards are eligible, with most of the lesser-known ones using a more familiar umbrella name on their label. The best flank the Grands Crus on the north bank of the River Serein, like Montée de Tonnerre (probably the best of all), Fourchaume and Mont de Milieu.
Those just south of Chablis, like Vaillons, Montmains (especially Les Forêts) and Côte de Léchet are also good. With the vineyard area having doubled since the 1970s, quality varies enormously so, as ever, the producer is key.
Styles also vary, with some maturing and fermenting in stainless steel for a purer, more minerally style, while others age and sometimes even ferment their wines in oak for extra complexity. The best examples reach their apogee at eight to 10 years, but are normally enjoyed long before then.
Recommended producers: Jean-Claude Bessin, Billaud-Simon, Séguinot-Bordet, J.-P. & Benoit Droin, Duplessis, Defaix
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
Fôret is another lieu-dit of Montmains but such is its individuality that the great majority of the production is sold as Fôrets. Guillaume has 1.7 ha and he says the soil here is stonier than in Montmains and he is looking for the purest expression of that difference. There is some mid-palate fat but the overriding essence of the wine is of flinty cool stone and a rocky finish.
Drink 2026 - 2034
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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