Country: | France |
Region: | Burgundy |
Winery: | Chavy-Chouet |
Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
Vintage: | 2015 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Femelottes is made form 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture, the wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean apple and citrus flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value. A delicate, expressive wine of exceptional quality.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged 10 months in oak barrels (10% new, the rest in 2-3 year old barrels).
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Femelottes is made form 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture, the wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean apple and citrus flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value. A delicate, expressive wine of exceptional quality.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged 10 months in oak barrels (10% new, the rest in 2-3 year old barrels).
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Les Saussots is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. A medium yellow straw color in the glass. On the nose, you will find layers aromas of cured lemon and hints of coconut and mango. On the palate, the juice has clean flavor, fresh acidity, and excellent balance. Vanilla notes follow through to the slightly creamy finish.
The grapes from this wines are grown from the Meursault area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Seafood, fish, salad or by itself as an aperitif.
Drink this one now or over the next 3 to 4 years.
Chavy Chouet Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres is 100 percent Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay, aged in 100% new French oak, displaying delightful, crisp, mineral aromas intertwined with toasty and vanilla notes. The result is a well balanced and harmonious Puligny of great finesse.
Aged in 100% New French oak
The Enseigneres is the most renowned of the Puligny-Montrachet villages, thanks to its exceptional geographical and geological location, along with its close neighbors Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet.
Displaying delightful, crisp, mineral aromas intertwined with toasty and vanilla notes. The result is a well-balanced and harmonious Puligny-Montrachet of great finesse and good ageing potential.
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Rouge La Taupe is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Chavy-Chouet's Pinot Noir is classified as humble Bourgogne Rouge, but the fruit for it comes from an excellent single-vineyard site near Pommard. La Taupe's parcel was once part of the Pommard AOC.
The wine is juicy with a great mouthfeel. It has classic Bourgogne Rouge aromas, with a candied cherry character as well as strawberry, raspberry and spice, yet the structure and length of finish reminds one of a Pommard - ripe & rich with a bigger body.
Average age of the vines: 70 years old.
Density of planting: 10,000 vines per hectare.
Soil: clay
100% distemmed.
Very little intervention. Less pigeage (punch down of the cap) but some remontage (pump-over)
Chavy-Chouet Volnay 1er Cru Sous La Chapelle is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Total acreage for this wine: 0.1 hectare (0.25 acres)Planting density: 10 000 vines per hectares
Age of the vines: 10 years
At the bottom of the slope in the heart of Volnay, this plot lies on clay-sand soil.
Volnay is located on the steep sloping hill of Chaignot in the Côte de Beaune, where the southeast facing vines have been valued for centuries. These vineyards have been valued and exploited for centuries. Long before the French Revolution, the harvests of Volnay went to the Knights of Malta, the Abbeys of Saint-Andoche d’Autun and Maizières, or to the Dukes of Bourgogne and their successors, the Kings of France.
Volnay has a reputation for being among the most delicate, feminine of the Bourgogne wines. Limestone soil dominates the area, with deeper, gravelly soils at the foot of the slope, where Chavy Chouet’s vines are located.
This Volnay is full of character; broad and fruity. Smooth and elegant tannins make it a feminine wine, marked by aromas of black berries and leather.
Somewhat seductive, like the wine maker himself, this is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. The wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged in 2-3 year old barrels.
The Domaine Chavy-Chouet Estate
Romaric Chavy took over the estate in 2014, making him the eighth generation to make wine in his family. Romaric learned from his father, Hubert Chavy, who founded the winery. Chavy-Chouet is one of the oldest families in Puligny-Montrachet. The Ropiteau family (on his mother's side) is the oldest one in Meursault.
Hubert Chavy (known not only for his winemaking but also for his charisma) was able to train Romaric in for a few years before his passing in early 2014. Romaric has become a very smart vigneron with a great philosophy. Making wine has come naturally to him, as if often does in Burgundy when you are next in line.
After six years at a specialist winemaking school and with plenty of experience in winegrowing and vinification around the world under his belt, Romaric has given the estate a makeover, watching over his 15 hectares of vines with a rigorous eye. He is proud of his roots, and his approach combines rigor, tradition, and innovation.
A group from Kysela visits Chavy-Chouet in January each year, carrying on a tradition of tasting from barrels, then bottles, and then finishing with some mystery wines. The group has to guess the appellation and the vintage of wines being poured from magnums...a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
This is a 15 hectare-domaine (37 acres) that produces wine from 14 A.O.C.'s (80% White, 20% Red). The vineyard is divided into 70 parcels planted to vines that are 40 years old or more. He uses Gillet as his cooper, who blends oak from Nevers, Limousin and Allier forests. The barrels receive medium toast. Romaric, just as his father, Hubert, does not fine or filter his wines, as he prefers their purity to shine through.
The winery covers 1,300 square meters, including 800 square meters of cellars, and is a mix of ancient and ultra-modern. The set-up allows him to work hand-in-hand with nature in a well-managed yet pleasant environment, and to meet his very high demands in terms of quality. The wines are put into barrels using gravity, intervention is kept to a minimum, and an irreproachable attitude to cleanliness also symbolize his quest for excellence in the shape of pure and balanced wines that burst with energy.
A corked bottle of 1983 Pichon-Lalande led to my inaugural visit to this Meursault domaine. My precious Pauillac corked, I ordered a bottle of 2015 Bourgogne Les Femelottes from Chavy-Chouet at Brat restaurant in London. It was so damn delicious that I ordered another and emailed winemaker Romaric Chavy that I must visit pronto.
Arriving at the gates, I noticed that there was no doorbell or knocker. When I was noticed loitering outside, the gates finally opened and Romaric Chavy informed me that they do without a doorbell because they have so many visitors. Chavy is a young and confident guy, very media-savvy, which is uncommon in Burgundy. He worked abroad in various countries including South Africa and Greece before taking over Chavy-Chouet at the age of just 22. Before tasting through the 2017s, which had all been bottled, I asked about the background of the domaine.
“The holdings come from two sides of my grandfather’s family. Chavy comes from Puligny-Montrachet, and his wife was part of the Ropiteau family in Meursault. Back then, he sold the wines to Bouchard Père. It was my own father, Hubert, who started bottling his own wine when he married his wife from Pommard and bought this house in Meursault. I started at the domaine in 2006 when we were still selling off grapes. I already had a good network [of potential clients] and so we started to bottle everything and develop exports. My father passed away in 2014. Now we have 15 hectares, mostly old vines located in five villages, producing around 90,000 bottles, of which around 90% is exported. We have three or four people working full-time and we work in a classical way - lutte raisonée and ploughing in the vineyard. This year we approached half the vineyard organically, but when the pressure became too high, we switched back and used spray. We press the fruit for two hours, with a 24-hour debourbage, and then ferment in barrel using natural yeast, a maximum of 20% new oak for between 9 and 12 months, with no lees stirring and a light filtration before bottling. We try to keep as much natural CO2 as possible.”
It is always a pleasure to discover a producer who has skimmed under your Burgundy radar for some time. Chavy-Chouet has built a loyal following here in the UK and I can understand why. These wines are very pure, terroir-driven and focused. Yet they are not challenging or pretentious and give much sensory pleasure. As I mentioned, you can splash the cash on a Premier Cru white if you wish, but do not ignore the 2017 Bourgogne Blanc Les Femelottes. It is unequivocally Village Cru in quality – no real surprise given that its vines are adjacent to Puligny-Village. The 2017 Meursault Charmes is an absolute knockout, whilst the monopole Clos des Corvées de Citeau is superb. This is an address I will definitely return to in the future, though I have made a mental note to phone ahead, so that I can actually get in. - Neal Martin"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (2017 Burgundy: A Modern Classic, January 2019)
Grand Veneur Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Les Origines is made from 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre and 20% Syrah
Matured in vats (grenache) and in oak casks (syrah and mourvèdre).
Deep and brilliant, purple-red colour. An exciting nose with aromas of black fruit (blackcurrant, cherry) spices and vanilla. This great aromatic complexity is found on the palate : the spices and ripe fruit appear with an elegant woodiness and harmonious tannins. The finish has good aromatic length and introduces a touch of liquorice and pepper.
A terrific Châteauneuf du Pape with great concentration and finesse.
Best between 2 and 20 years. Best to decant if young (less than 5 years old).
Soil type Extreme north of Châteauneuf du Pape. This plateau is made with a high quantity of red clay mixed with rocks. This area is considerated to be one of the best to produce rich and powerful red wines. By definition, LES ORIGINES will always deliver a great complexity and ageing potential. Winemaking & ageing Harvest is sorted by hand, destemmed and crushed. Fermentation temperature is controlled at 30°C. Vatting period of 18 to 20 days. Matured in vats (grenache) and in oak casks (syrah and mourvèdre).
Review:
"The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Origines is also deep purple-hued and has a classic bouquet of crème de cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with notions of graphite, chocolate, and spicy wood. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, this is beautifully done and despite its more modern elevage, it has plenty of Provençal character and charm."
- Jeb Dunnuck (October 2020), 94-96+ pts
"Warm in feel, with a gush of plum puree and blackberry paste flavors, liberally laced with black licorice and roasted alder notes. A solidly built, modern version, with a nice tug of warm earth on the back end. Best from 2022 through 2034. —J.M."
- Wine Spectator's Insider (June 9th 2021), 93 pts
Demoiselles Sancerre Blanc is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc.
The name "Les demoiselles" (translate as "The young ladies"), refers to the beautiful migratory birds (Cranes) that fly over the town of Sancerre twice a year (in the Fall going South to spend the winter in the African continent, and in the Spring going back North to spend the Summer in Northern Europe). These graceful birds offer a unique and impressive show when they sometimes land on the banks of the Loire River. The Fleuriet family wanted to highlight this exceptional grace and express an elegant and refined bouquet in this Sancerre Demoiselles cuvée.
The wine shows a bright yellow color with green highlights, a fruity nose with aromas of white flowers and acacia. Light-medium bodied in the mouth, supple and well structured, its concentration and crisp acidity make it a harmonious and food-friendly wine.
Pairs nicely with fresh goat cheeses, oysters with lemon, grilled lemon chicken breasts and Mexican dishes. Serve these whites at 46 °F (8 °C).