CHABLIS

2017 1er Cru Montmains Domaine Moreau-Naudet

EN PRIMEUR

Tasted in October from the tank - the nose is more subdued here than on the Vaillons. And yet the feel here is richer and weightier. Great breadth in the mouth. The mineral side of this is serious, clean and scrubbed - this has a suedey texture to finish and lovely soft spice. Impressive impact.L&S (Oct 2018)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

This has aromas of dried apple and pineapple, lemon zest, crushed stones and hints of white pepper and crystallized ginger. It’s medium-to full-bodied with bright, mouthwatering acidity. Fantastic flavor intensity and texture. Salty on the finish. Drink or hold. Rating: 95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)

The 2017 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru is one of the richer, more powerful 1er Crus in this range. A touch of vinification in oak adds volume and depth. Apricot, mango, pineapple and exotic floral notes all built in the glass. This is an especially overt, creamy style. I expect the 2017 will offer its finest drinking on the earlier side. Drinking range: 2020 - 2027 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)

(from Montmains proper and Butteaux). Once again there is enough petrol influence to mention on the floral, airy and exotic fruit though here it’s more subtle. The lavishly rich medium-bodied flavors possess excellent concentration as well as an almost chewy texture though the warm finish lacks a bit of energy. In the same fashion as the Vaillons, I would not be inclined to age this beyond a few years. Drinking range: 2021 - Rating: 88 Alex Hunt MW, www.jancisrobinson.com (Jan 2020)

Deeply flavoured with real mineral suggestions. Something about the texture of this reminds me of the finest new lean Australian Chardonnays, funnily enough. Set for many a year. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)

Notes of green apple, white flowers, crisp peach and oatmeal introduce the 2017 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains, a full-bodied, textural wine with considerable mid-palate volume and amplitude, underpinned by succulent acids. It's attractively fleshy but complete. Like the Fôrets, I suspect this Montmains will tense up during its second winter on the lees. Rating: 91-93 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Aug 2018)

A domaine of 25 hectares, of which 3 are in Petit Chablis, 11 or 12 in Chablis, 3 in Vaillons, 2 in Forets, 1.6 in Montmains, 0.86 in Montée de Tonnerre, and 0.58 in Valmur. (Yes, this does not make 25 - there are further parcels of young vines in the Courgis sector - Beauregards, Côte de Jouan and Goulotte, which are currently sold in bulk).

Virginie (Mimi) Moreau is proving more than equal to the task of taking over from her husband Stéphane. Stéphane, who was influenced by Vincent Dauvissat (who recommended him to us many years ago, and who remains an influence here) was vigneron whose star burned very brightly, and the domaine continues along the lines he set, working organically, hand-picking, aiming for optimum maturity while avoiding any botrytis influence.

The cellar-work is also masterful, using 30% barrel-élevage for all the Premier and the Grand Cru, but not in such a way that oakiness can readily be detected in the wines (all the barrels are steamed rather than charred and there is no new oak except for in the straight Chablis, and then only one barrel per 100hl in order to age it prior to using for the Premiers Crus).

Mimi's daughter Neil (Nelle) is a bright new addition to the team here and together there is a calm confidence in what they are doing, and the wines - full of racy character, textural depth and complexity, seem to be better with every vintage.

ORDERING VIA OUR WEBSITE:

  • We will respond as quickly as possible with confirmation of your order and your invoice.

Please note that certain wines are on very tight allocations and will first be offered to customers who buy across the range. If you have any queries, please email our primeurs team or speak to your usual L&S contact.

ORDERING VIA EMAIL:

Please feel free to email us at any time. This list can include wines listed as available on the website, as well as those marked 'To Be Advised'. We will reply as soon as possible with confirmation of what we can offer.

STORAGE OPTIONS:

Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your primeur order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.

BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.

PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.

DELIVERY - TIMING: This is a primeur offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery. They will be shipped to the UK over the next eighteen months. Generally, wines are shipped to your nominated location once the whole order has landed in our London City Bond account. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.

DELIVERY - FEES: In bond delivery to an Elephant Storage account (for more information see 'Storage Options' opposite) is free of charge. Transfer of wines to any third-party bond (i.e. not Elephant Storage) will incur an administration charge of £16.50 + VAT for all orders under £1,000. Please indicate if you would like the wine duty paid and a duty & VAT invoice will be raised once all the wines on your order are available for shipment. Once the relevant duty & VAT has been settled, we will ship the wines to your nominated address as per our normal duty paid Delivery Terms.

PAYMENT: All orders will be invoiced for immediate payment by cheque, cash, debit card or cleared funds to our account. We regret that we cannot accept credit cards for primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.