CHABLIS GRAND CRU LES CLOS > J MOREAU & FILS

Varietal

100% Chardonnay.

Tasting notes

Light gold colour.

Distinguished nose with notes of mandarins, fresh almond and dried apricot.

A worthy representative of its specific terroir : creamy yet refreshing with flavors of citrus and hawthorn. The finale is lingering with an agreable minerality and subtle salinity

Food and wine pairing

Excellent with seafood and fish such as salmon or turbot. Also goes well with white meats in cream sauce or simply on its own, as an aperitif. After 5 years, it will perfectly pair up with matured cheeses or spicy salmon.

Serving suggestions

Ideally serve cooled down at 14°C / 57°F.

Ageing potential

6 years and more.

Origin

Since a law was passed in 1938, around 100 hectares of south/south-western facing vines that benefit from optimal exposure to the sun and stretch out in a crescent shape along the right bank of the Serein river are entitled to bear the Chablis Grand Cru appellation including "Les Clos", one of the seven single vineyards or “climats” that have contributed to the international reputation of the Chablis region's Great White Wines.

The very first Chablis vineyards were most likely planted in Les Clos since we can find traces of vines grown there before 1267. This single vineyard, with a surface area of 24.75 hectares is the largest of the seven prestigious Grands Crus. It is also the most uniform with a regular 200-metre south-west facing slope. Hillside terroir. Calcosol made from Portlandian and Kimmeridgian colluviums on Kimmeridgian marls.

Vinification and maturing

The grapes and musts were slowly pressed in a pneumatic press, to get a juice as clear and pure as possible. This juice was left to settle at cold temperatures so that it would be freed from its roughest lees.

The alcoholic fermentation began in stainless steel vats; after 3 days, 30% of the juice was transferred to fine-grained oak barrels to continue the alcoholic fermentation. The remaining juice was left in stainless steel vats for another 4 to 7 days of alcoholic fermentation under controlled temperatures (18-20°C / 64-68°F) to preserve as much fruit as possible.

The malolactic fermentation was completed so that we get a rounder wine. Finally, the wine was aged on its fine lees for 9 months to develop its complexity.

Vintage : 2018

Winter was particularly mild and the vine cycle began, once again, very early with consequently inflorescence. And this earliness did not stop all season long. Spring was very wet and rainy but no frost this year! However some localized hailstorms caused damages in some villages of the Chablis area. Then the climatic conditions significantly changed with a very dry late spring and summer that have led to fears of a new small harvest while keeping the cryptogamic diseases risks away. The very high temperatures in August have resulted in falling down the acidity in the grapes and have hastened the harvest beginning. Furthermore the long dry and hot summer allowed us to minimize the necessary treatments against vine sicknesses. September finally dispelled any doubts offering one of the best vintages in Chablis for almost 20 years. Mother Nature offered us a real gift after two difficult years in the region’s vineyards. The extremely early harvest finally offered quantity thanks to some rainfalls by the end of August. The first grapes were cut (for the Crémants) by the 25th of August and the last Chablis were harvested on September, the 21st. 70% of the volumes were in the wineries around the 10th of September, offering clean, flawless juices with body, fruit and nice acidity.