Domaine Christian Moreau "Les Clos" Chablis Grand Cru (Pre-Arrival)
Chardonnay from Chablis
| Vintage: | 2018 |
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| Description: | 97 points Wine Enthusiast. A certain restraint governs the chalky, nutty and smoky nature of this wine's nose. Very slowly, a pure note of zesty lemon comes through, illuminating the entire wine. Chalky density, coolness and rich, buffered stoniness give texture and concentration, made distinct by lemon freshness. The wine already has harmony and poise that will only increase over the years. It is elegant and enduring. Drink 2025–2040. (ak) (12/2020) 95 points Decanter. As I often do when they're young, I slightly prefer this bottling to the Moreaus' Clos des Hospices in 2018 (it scored 94). This comes from a single, 2ha block that's picked in three tranches and vinified separately. Marrying oaked and stainless components in equal measure, it's a wonderfully complex expression of this brilliant site showing a combination of power, texture and racy, chalky acidity. Drinking Window 2021 - 2030. (ta) (7/2019) 94 points John Gilman. The regular bottling of Les Clos from the Moreau family is excellent in 2018. The wine is raised exactly the same as the Clos des Hospices, which is fifty percent barrel fermentation, fifty percent tank fermentation, and the new oak kept to four percent. The 2018 was showing well, offering up a fine aromatic constellation of apple, lemon, tangerine, straw, wet stone minerality and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with an excellent core of fruit, fine soil signature and impressive length and grip on the vibrant and very well-balanced finish. Fine, fine juice in the making. 2025-2075. (11/2020) 93-94 points James Suckling. This is in such good form in 2018 with a very attractive and very rich, layered and complete feel. The flinty nose has intense lemons, grapefruit and white peaches, as well as limes. The palate has very composed, weighty and quite compressed, fleshy power. Try from 2026. (7/2019) 93 points Allen Meadows - Burghound. There is very good Chablis typicity to the overtly floral nose that offers up notes of mineral reduction, white peach and sea breeze that are trimmed in softly exotic nuances. The sleek, intense and delicious larger-scaled flavors possess fine underlying tension, all wrapped in a succulent, palate coating, dry, refined and powerful finish where the only nit is a touch of warmth. This is a relatively fleshy rendition of Les Clos but no less attractive for it. (11/2020) 93 points Vinous. The 2018 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a delineated, complex bouquet of red apples, flint, sea spray and light walnut aromas, becoming a little smokier with aeration. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry. A precise rather than powerful Les Clos, maintaining exceptional detail through to the slightly candied, stem-ginger-tinged finish. Another excellent 2018 from Moreau. (nm) (9/2020) 91-93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. The 2018 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is also showing well, exhibiting notions of orange rind, confit lemon and green apple, followed by a full-bodied, layered palate that's racier and chalkier than the fleshier, blockier Valmur. As I wrote last year, Fabien Moreau presides over this 11.5-hectare domaine—including fully six hectares of grand cru—that has been certified organic since 2010. The Chablis AOC is the only cuvée where the domaine's holdings are supplemented by some purchased grapes. Hand harvesting followed by fermentation and élevage on the lees in a mixture of stainless steel, used barrels and new barrels is the order of the day here, with some of the higher appellations seeing up to 10% new oak. Concentrated and keenly balanced, it's an impressive range; but for those who are averse to the flavors and aromas of new oak in Chablis—the present writer included—a few years' bottle age is essential to allow the wines to digest their wood component. The domaine's 2018s, tasted very early in their élevage, show promise. (wk) (12/2019) K&L Notes. 92-94 points Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy: "60% was fermented in tank and 40% in barrel, then blended and returned to barrel. Clear crisp lemon and lime with a very fine and balanced bouquet. Picked in three plots. A few plums, stops short of peaches, firm rich ripe white fruit, this certainly has power at the back and just a touch of heat. Les Clos can carry its 13.5% alcohol however." 93-95 points Antonio Galloni in Vinous: "The 2018 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru is airy and gracious - not unlike the Blanchot in feel - with added layers of textural richness and depth. Apricot, citrus confit, crushed rocks, oak and light tropical overtones add character to this beautifully layered, nuanced Clos. A Chablis of reserve and class, the 2018 has a very bright future, as suggested by the floral, tightly wound finish. The 2018 was done 60% in steel and 40% in oak." (1/2020). |
| Price: | $ 99.99 |
| Price in original currency: | None |
Available from K&L Wine Merchants
| Address: |
3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 United States |
|---|---|
| Telephone (toll-free): | 877-559-4637 |
| Telephone (regular): | 650-364-8544 |
| Fax: | 650-364-4687 |
First added to 1000 Corks on May 12, 2020.
