Domaine Chalmeau 2005 Tasting Notes

Chablis Côte de l’Étang 2004
Aligoté Envers des Côtes 2004

Our exclusive wines this year from the charming Chalmeau brothers Franck and Sébastien, come from the 2004 vintage. After the exceptionally hot weather in 2003 it was a relief that 2004 was a ‘normal’ vintage. The summer months were unremarkable, albeit with some very changeable weather and the harvest didn’t start until after the date it had finished in 2003! The cool summer slowed down the véraison (change in grape colour) and disrupted the start of ripening, but a warm, sunny spell in early September accelerated the process with a substantial increase in sugar in the grapes.

If the weather in 2004 was more typical then so too are the wines. Both our exclusive Chablis Côte de l’Étang and our Aligoté Envers des Côtes have higher levels of acidity than last year and they are more steely and mineral-edged compared to the tropical-flavoured richness of the 2003s. Although the vines in the Côte de l’Étang vineyard were planted in 1989 our first single-vineyard wine was not produced until 1995 - so with the 2004 harvest our Côte de l’Étang is officially 10 years old. The vines themselves at 15 years old are still relatively young, and from a ‘normal’ vintage like 2004 it is rewarding to note just how much extra complexity the wine is gaining as the vines get older.

Chablis, as well as being excellent to sip by itself, is of course the classic accompaniment to smoked salmon; but have you tried it with cheese? With many cheeses dry white wines are a better match than reds.

Our exclusive Aligoté, Envers des Côtes continues to be a source of joy to those who know it and disbelief to those who don’t! Most Aligoté is consumed young, mixed with crème de cassis as a delightful kir - but our Envers des Côtes does deserve better. Its flavour when young is crisp and lemon fresh - not as complex as the Chablis by any means - but let it age a couple of years (or longer) and, remarkably, it turns into a refreshing yet rich alternative apéritif, unadorned by the blackcurrant liqueur of Dijon.