Domaine Séguinot-Bordet 2005 Tasting Notes

Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2003
Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2003

Our wines this year come from the 2003 vintage, when the canicule (heatwave) provided an exceptional harvest. Summer started gently, but the mercury climbed inexorably into August when the whole of France sweltered under record temperatures. Luckily Chablis in northern Burgundy escaped the worst and the grapes were harvested in superb condition two weeks early. Yields however were reduced, in part due to the heat but also as a result of some late spring frosts.

Both wines - our exclusive Chablis Vieilles Vignes and the Premier Cru Fourchaume are quite different in style to last year’s vintage. The hot weather produced riper grapes with less acidity and higher potential alcohol. Careful vinification followed by over-wintering on its lees has imbued the Vieilles Vignes with a rich, slightly tropical fruit flavour to complement the underlying minerality so typical of this wine.

The Premier Cru Fourchaume is slightly deeper in colour than last year and on the palate it has the unoaked freshness of lime and melon. The 2003 vintage is ‘atypical’ Chablis, but these are nonetheless excellent wines, albeit for relatively early drinking (now to 2008) - but who knows how they may evolve in bottle? We do advise you to keep a few to judge for yourself, for one thing is clear - this vintage is in short supply and will be snapped up very quickly.

Normally we drink Chablis with dishes that have high acidity (often due to their dressings) - smoked salmon or avocado for example - where the crisp mineral acidity of the wine matches these ‘sharper’ flavours. The 2003 vintage however is more versatile, as the ripe fruit flavours are more pronounced and will not be dominated by stronger flavours - try it with fish or poultry in rich cheesy sauces that would normally call for an oaked Chardonnay. But most of all just sip it for sheer unadulterated pleasure.