Varietal
100% Chardonnay.
Tasting notes
Pale in colour. Open nose reminiscent of fruit, almond, butter and fresh liquorice. Round, dense, and buttery on the palate with flavours of citrus marmalade and toasted almond.
Food and wine pairing
Perfect with all fish and shellfish as well as with white meats.
Serving suggestions
Drink ideally at a temperature of 14°C. (57°F.).
Ageing potential
4 to 6 years.
Origin
34 hectares are classified under the Premier Cru Fourchaume appellation.
Located in the commune of La Chapelle- Vaulpelteigne, just to the north of the hillside containing all of the Grands Crus, this is a jewel among the Premiers Crus. Due to its international reputation, the wines from the subparcels is often sold under the Fourchaume name. In fact, Fourchaume is one of the "Climats porte drapeau" (flag-bearer climates) grouping together those of L'Homme Mort, Vaulorent, Côte de Fontenay and Vaupulent.
The slope is regular with south-western exposure, and is located in the valley of Fontenay-près-Chablis to the northeast of Chablis. Gentle slopes overlying Kimmeridgian marls.
Vinification and maturing
- some of the grapes were brought in in 15kg crates
- pneumatic pressing
- cold static settling of the juice
- alcoholic fermentation began in stainless steel tanks
- after 3 days, 15% of the juice was racked and transferred to fine grained 1 to 2-year-old barrels where they continued their alcoholic fermentation with weekly stirring
- the remaining juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks for 7 to 10 days under controlled temperatures (18 to 20°C) to preserve a maximum of fruit and glycerol
- 100% malolactic fermentation
- aged on fine lees for about 10 months and bottled in July 2008.
Vintage : 2007
Once again, this year was marked by mixed weather conditions. Following an extremely mild winter, budburst began thirteen days earlier than in 2006. Snowfall at the end of March considerably slowed down vine development. Temperatures began to rise radically and stayed high from 8 April on, making it the warmest month of April since 1921. In early May, the growth cycle was a month in advance with the first flowers appearing on 15 May. During the night of 24-25 June, significant hailstorms hit the southern vineyards. Veraison began in mid-July and was followed by a dramatic drop in temperatures that made for cold, wet weather that lasted until the end of August. When harvest officially started on 1 September, most of the grapes were not ripe. However, the return of the sun and higher temperatures from the beginning of September on dried out the vines and allowed the grapes to ripen. Harvesting began on 11 September at J. Moreau & Fils with alcohol levels of between 10% and 11.5%, high acidity levels of between 7.5 and 9g/l, and low pH levels of 3 to 3.2. Our choice to harvest late, along with the talent and technique of our team, allowed us to produce wines highly expressive of their terroir with acidity levels characteristic of our northern region. All of the wines for this vintage underwent malolactic fermentation to add to the finesse and complexity of our great wines.