letuffeau.com
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(Link) he Preserve of the Cognoscenti …
Domaine Gilbert Picq
Chichee, Chablis
… not Chablis for Everyone
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“Picq’s Chablis are a lesson in austerity, straight out of the IMF and World Bank playbook.”
— Nick
“Perhaps Picq's wines remain the preserve of the cognoscenti because he doesn't own any of Chablis's grand cru slopes? Whatever the reason, it emphatically has nothing to do with the quality of his wines … Picq picks by hand and is one of the few domaines in the region to sort its fruit before pressing, eliminating up to 10% to 15% on the sorting table this year, surely helps to explain that success. Averaging a yield of 30 hectoliters per hectare, the resulting wines are racy classics that will delight Chablis purists.”
— William Kelley, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Picq is a Chablis producer to go to if you want your Chablis steely and uncompromising; none of his small number of cuvées see any oak, just stainless steel in his winery in the village of Chichée. To that end, his wines tend to show poorly during blind tastings because they can come across a bit raw in a beauty pageant.”
— Neal Martin, vinous.com
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~ please note : discounts are automatically applied at the digital check-out! ~
I
Domaine Gilbert Picq 2023 Chablis
(Shelf Price: $89.00)
Offer Price: $79.00
“ … delicious, vibrant, and precise … good minerality …”
(89-91)pts — Allen Meadows, burghound.com
“The 2023 Chablis Village was assembled for my visit by Didier Picq from 10 vats. It has an attractive if light bouquet with apple blossom and fresh pear aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, a little creaminess towards the finish. This will drink well for 4-6 years.”
(88-90)pts — Neal Martin, vinous.com
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II
Domaine Gilbert Picq 2023 Chablis ‘En Vaudecorse’
(Shelf Price: $98.00)
Offer Price: $87.00
“An interesting nose reflects notes of green tea, iodine, crushed fennel and green apple … If you can find it, but it as villages-level Chablis doesn’t get much better than this in 2023.”
(89-92)pts — Allen Meadows, burghound.com
“The 2023 Vaudecorse is much more expressive than the Vauclaire at the moment, a mixture of white and yellow fruit with a touch of flintiness underneath. The palate is quite attacking on the entry, tensile and focused. It gradually builds toward a cohesive and satisfying finish. This has similar potential to the excellent 2022.”
(91-93)pts — Neal Martin, vinous.com
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III
Domaine Gilbert Picq 2023 Chablis VV
(Shelf Price: $117.00)
Offer Price: $104.00
“A ripe yet airy nose combines aromas of green fruit and limon-lime with those of iodine, crushed anise and shellfish. The old vines are in evidence as there is very good volume to the caressing medium-bodied flavours that exude a bracing salinity on the attractively dry, long and balanced finale.”
(88-91)pts — Allen Meadows, burghound.com
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IV
Domaine Gilbert Picq 2022 Chablis ‘Dessus la Carriere’
(Shelf Price: $104.00)
Offer Price: $92.00
“A truly beautiful nose, elegance with intensity … this has me dancing … ! This wine receives 5 stars, an accolade given rarely.”
92pts — Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
“At the moment, the 2022 Chablis Au Dessus des Carrieres is stoic on the nose compared to Picq’s other cuvees, despite both of us giving our glasses vigorous swirls. The palate is where the action is: great concentration and depth, hints of white peach and nectarine, the power loaded at its back end. Give this two or three years in bottle.”
(92-94)pts — Neal Martin, vinous.com
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V
Domaine Gilbert Picq 2022 Chablis 1er Cru ‘Vosgros’
(Shelf Price: $145.00)
Offer Price: $129.00
“This is, in a word, terrific.”
93pts — Allen Meadows, burghound.com
“The 2022 Chablis Vosgros 1er Cru has a wonderfully delineated nose with peach skin, nectarine, Vervane flowers and lanolin, opening up with gusto in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a spicier opening than expected, a dash of ginger and white pepper, though very subtle. Quite a resinous Chablis in texture with a persistent finish. Excellent, but not a Chablis for everyone.”
93pts — Neal Martin, vinous.com
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“What follows is a long, eruditely personal refelction from Nick, our man in Chichee, on the wines of Domaine Gilbert Picq. Take my word for it, these are his favourite wines. Read, and learn, at your own risk!”
— David
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“No such thing as too much Chablis. In any case …
I should state at first that these are some of the most singularly impressive wines not only of Chablis, but all of Burgundy, and probably even of any wine made from Chardonnay. And yet, they remain almost anonymous to those not ‘in the know’, who draw their attention to more august names such as Raveneau or Dauvissat. This must be rectified.
Raveneau and Dauvissat sit in their own class, and it would be entirely inappropriate to compare these to Picq. This is not because there is a discrepancy in quality; in fact, I would go so far as to suggest that in terms of fruit, Picq’s top wines easily go toe-to-toe with great bottles of either of the two greats. In some years, Picq’s powerful Vosgros outclasses even Grand Cru from far more august company.
No, they are incomparable on stylistic grounds: Picq entirely eschews the use of oak barrels, preferring vinification and elevage entirely in stainless steel tanks. Add to this Picq’s generous lees regime, with even the entry-level wines seeing at least 18 months on fine lees; top cuvees (including the Villages-level Dessus la Carriere) may see over two years.
What results is what can only be described as ‘Proper Chablis’, as Neal Martin once remarked. This is transparent wine, but without any sharp edges. You will always find the classic characteristics of this region: sea-spray, ozone, estuary, oyster shell, wet stones, alkaline battery terminal (!?).
There is brilliant acid, but the wines are never highly strung; they show richness, but never feel overworked; they can have powerful, ripe fruit, yet they never feel flabby.
Even in a vintage I wrote off almost entirely — because of widespread over-ripened fruit, producing glycerine, tropical Chablis — Picq’s 2020 Vosgros is in my glass as I write, and is hands-down one of that difficult vintage’s most truly Chablisien expressions.
I have always lamented the lack of a Grand Cru in the Picq range, not least because Valmur and Vaudesir present the perfect opportunity to add to the V-theme, but I don’t think anyone is ready for a 100-point Neal Martin Chablis yet. We may take solace in the fact that each of these wines — and I mean this with not an ounce of exaggeration — drinks above its level; the Premier Cru could be mistaken for Grand, and the Villages single-vineyard bottlings are easily at the level of excellent Premier Cru.
These are not ‘pleasant’ wines, nor are they ‘hedonistic’, either. Some might call them ‘mean’ or ‘difficult’. For lovers of classic Chablis, there can be no higher compliment. They deserve your full attention. Set aside two hours, find a quiet, dimly-lit room, with no risk of being disturbed, and drink the whole bottle to yourself.
— Nick
If you would like any of the above, would like to come by for a private appointment, or just have some questions — please let us know.