CHABLIS

2019 Vieilles Vignes Les Pargues Domaine Moreau-Naudet

EN PRIMEUR

Very old vines producing very small yields, three parcels producing around 10, 15 and 20hl/ha, which is pretty pitiful for Grand Cru Chablis, let alone a 'village' wine. The oldest parcel is in 1er Cru Séchet. This yield is really too low, but Virginie loves the old vines. Tight, very compact and powerful, with punchy juice and a super-fresh mineral finish - excellent. Drinking range: 2022 - 2027L&S (Oct 2020)

* 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.

The 2019 Chablis Les Pargues Vieilles Vignes easily has the best bouquet amongst Moreau-Naudet’s 2019s with vibrant citrus fruit, yellow plum and light stony scents. The palate is well balanced with a lightly spiced entry, good weight with fine tension towards the finish, ginger and lemongrass lingering on the aftertaste. It is a fine Chablis even if, at the moment, I do not see long-term potential. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2021)

A perennial favourite of mine, there is a lot of fun here and layers of fruit, too, and this makes it a stand-out wine from the various villages offerings in this vintage. The finish is astounding, with pristine, lemony acidity and I think that this wine will look ravishing from the moment it lands ad for a good five years after this date, too. Rating: 17.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jan 2021)

This wine may also be labelled Les Pargues or Caractère depending on the market. From 75 year old vines, it has a similar cheerful yellow colour, with an attractively floral nose, yet classic Chablis beneath, especially as the wine develops on the palate. This really builds to the back, fresh yet rich, ripe, but with a pleasing grip. Very good length. Tasted: September 2020 **** Rating: 87 - 90 Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy  (Jan 2021)

Ripe lemon and burnished gold but still gives you the aromatic impression of great freshness. A conundrum. Broad and spicy on the palate. Without the same piercing finish as the straight Chablis but again with masses of flavour and quite some power. Both broad and long with a nicely sour freshness to finish. Drinking range: 2022 - 2029 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2021)

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.

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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

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