Varietal
100% Chardonnay.
Tasting notes
Food and wine pairing
Will be perfect with tuna in curry, red mullet in espelette chili pepper cooked “a la plancha”. Try it also with sea urchins, scampi, oysters, pollock, andouillette sausage, a trout, sashimi and sushi, fried tofu or a savory slice of gruyère cheese.
Serving suggestions
Serve ideally at 12-14°C. (54-57°F.).
Ageing potential
This wine can be enjoyed now or kept in the cellar for the next three years.
Origin
A hill that was abandoned for some time, or plants that grow in damp valleys? Several theories attempt to explain the meaning behind the name of this Climat of Chablis Premier Cru.
With its 51 hectares all to itself, Côte de Léchet sits happily on the left bank by itself. Its terroir is sun-drenched, with steep slopes that reach up to 38% in some places!
The grapes ripen particularly fast and the harvest usually starts quite early. Some nice Kimmeridgian marls lie at the foot of the vines, covered with clay and "terre à lapin", a form of limestone sand eroded by cold and frost. Because of the slope, thundershowers end up pushing some stones to the bottom of Côte de Léchet. Despite having good drainage, this soil calls for hard work from its wine producers who regularly have to haul earth back up!
Vinification and maturing
- light filtration before bottling
Vintage : 2020
The Covid crisis has certainly marked this year's harvest, which nonetheless has been able to go ahead! Despite the year's record temperatures and lack of rainfall, there is been no lack of quality, although yields are down, with an especially mixed picture with regard to reds. However, these have generally been very well-balanced. Overall, we have seen nice levels of acidity, promising good aging potential…
A record-breaking vintage:
- Record-breaking harvest: The first Chablis grapes were harvested on 24th August. For the record, last year the first grapes were not picked until the 13th September!
- Record-breaking heat: temperatures regularly broke the 35°C mark (95°F). Many winemakers did their harvesting at night-time to deliver optimal juice quality.
- Record-breaking quantities of grapes picked: we pressed the equivalent of more than 40 hectares (98.84 acres).
- Record-breaking numbers of old vines with more than 50 hectares (123.55 acres) of vines aged between 40 and 55 years, not to mention plots of Chablis dating to 1934 and plots of Aligoté planted in 1929!
- Record-breaking disinfection measures taken to protect employees and wine-makers and help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
First tastings by Lucie Depuydt:
«We got acidity levels that were just right for the balance we were trying to achieve. Fermentation came along very nicely; we have been working with grapes with decent levels of sugar (unlike the previous two years) and the yeasts, whether naturally-occurring or selected, appreciated this. The process of alcoholic fermentation has been completed in more than 95% of vats. The Chablis early featured intense aromas of pink grapefruit and pear. We put the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus into oak barrels, using a large number of 450 and 500 litre barrels to add finesse and elegance to the wine. Malolactic fermentation brought extra roundness and lots of complexity to our wines».