Gilbert Picq Chablis 2009
This is a tiny domaine with the two Picq brothers overseeing noth vineyard
and cellar. Their father also. This is a family affair.
The pursuit of "earth to glass" purity using chardonnay as a conduit is
obvious to all who taste these wines. There is a range of 6 wines with not
a Grand Cru in sight, some believing that this fact drives the family
harder and pushes quality further.
Low yields give the wine good strength & acidity. The wines are
vinified in stainless steel tanks, and tasted from the vats, show notes of
honey, citrus fruits, and white pepper, which is complemented by, as a
signature, an unusually rich, firm flintiness or minerality.
The purchase of a sorting table in 2006 has resulted in a vast textural
improvement in the Picq wines over the previous three vintages, enabling
the brothers to control their grape selections to the point where they
elected to forgo yeast inoculations. Didier admits to a number of sleepless
nights because the fermentations were consequently much slower than normal,
but the longer malolactic fermentations resulted in better textures, and so
he has continued working with indigenous yeast in subsequent vintages.
2009 CHABLIS "A pretty and quite complex blend of lightly spiced rich, fresh and vibrant middle weight flavours that possess fine detail on the notably dry and crisp saline finish." burghound.com
Armadale Cellars Price: $37.99 e-newlsetter special: mention this review and pay just $34.19 a bottle (10% off)!