WA: 95
Rating 95 Drink Date 2017 - 2038 Reviewed by Neal Martin Issue Date 31st Oct 2017 Source 233, The Wine Advocate Tasted blind at the Burgfest annual tasting the 2014 Chablis Grand Cru Vaudsir by Louis Michel has a detailed, oyster shell and flint-scented bouquet that is very engaging, drawing you in to discover its nuances. The palate is fresh and vibrant with crisp acidity, a little spicy on the second half with just a pinch of white pepper and leading to a very harmonious finish that feels persistent. This is what you might call a cerebral Chablis, yet one that does not forget that its first and most important role is to give us drinking pleasure. Bon vin. Today, Guillaume Michel presides over this important 22-hectare estate, which as long been the reference for tank-fermented and matured Chablis, a style that the Michel family did much to popularize in the 1980s. Intense and tensile wines are the calling card here, pure and unadorned by style and consistently high in quality. Indeed, I sometimes think that Louis Michel is the most underrated of Chablis's great domaines. Certainly, prices remain very reasonable. As usual, certain cuvées stand out—at the premier cru level, the old vine Butteaux, the Fourchaume (Vaulorent) and the Séchet, Montée de Tonnerre having taken a beating in recent vintages—but the overall standard, even for the lower appellations, is regular and high. They come warmly recommended.
