Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots La Réserve de l’Obédience – 2015
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Vineyard Profile
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Réserve de l’Obédience is produced from the finest selection of Les Blanchots grand cru vineyards. The eight plots that Laroche owns total 3.74 hectares (9.24 acres). Each plot is distinctive, with different vine age, location on the slope, rootstock, clone origin and soil depth — implying a variety of styles. Vintage conditions also vary greatly. A site with favorable sun exposure may be too warm in sunny vintages; a vineyard with less sun would give more balanced grapes. For these reasons, it would be folly to strive for the best wine from one single vineyard.
- Definition: The ninth-century monastery, L’Obédiencerie is where monks made the first Chablis, in the town of Chablis itself. The main offices and cellars of Domaine Laroche are located in this ancient stone monastery which is known as the birthplace of Chablis. La Réserve de l’Obédience is blended from the best wines of Les Blanchots grand cru, selected for their balance and harmony. Seventy different components kept in tanks, casks or large old wooden vats may be considered for the final blend.
- Viticulture: One man, one plot: There are more than 30 people who are dedicated to caring for the 90-plus hectares (222.39 acres) of Domaine Laroche vineyards, with each person responsible for only one plot. This tailor-made approach allows them to manage the vineyards with precision, speed and accuracy. Everyone at Domaine Laroche practices “lutte raisonnée,” or “reasoned protection,” (using chemical intervention only when required): The vineyard is plowed to aerate the soil and encourage development of the root system, as well as the organic life in the soil. Vines are pruned and trained by hand, with a strict pruning and debudding regimen. Leaf plucking occurs to aerate the canopy and avoid the development of botrytis, while trellising aerates the grapes and provides them with favorable exposure
- Soil: Blanchots has a unique soil composition, combining typical Chablis Kimmeridgian limestone with a layer of white clay. Blanchots takes its name from this white clay which retains moisture and protects the vines from hydric stress.
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Vintage Report
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If 2015 was an early vintage, we cannot speak about a solar vintage, as was 2006, as it possesses a serious acid vertebral column. The tasting of juices straightaway showed a lot of balance and the delicacy, an impression confirmed after the fermentation where we found precise mouths, without heaviness, and aromatic white flowers. Wines show a beautiful acidity and a concentration which remind those of 2005.
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Vinification
- Aging: After 14 months of aging, the individual lots are blended together from the best wines
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Technical Information
- Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
- Alcohol: 13%
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Tasting Notes
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Appearance: Light, clear, radiant
Aroma: Typical floral character of Blanchots, and then an intense minerality appears. Remarkable, complex aroma
Taste: Velvety, racy character, superb finish
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Images
Reviews
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Chablis Grand Cru La Réserve de l’Obédience – 2015 – 91 points – Burghound
"...There is excellent density and punch to the relatively bigbodied flavors that exude enough minerality to remark upon and particularly so on the bitter lemon-tinged finish where, like several of these 2015s, a touch of warmth arises..."
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Chablis Grand Cru La Réserve de l’Obédience – 2015 – 92 points – Wine Spectator
"... This felt very closed and tight-lipped by comparison and you had to eke out those white flower, peony aromas. The palate is, again, tight and straight, a strict Chablis with a terse, stony, flinty finish that just needs to develop more joie de vivre..."
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Chablis Grand Cru La Réserve de l’Obédience – 2015 – 92 points – Vinous
"...Pale yellow. An element of spicy oak sweetens the aromas of white peach, lemon, orange zest and minerals. Much riper, richer and broader in the mouth than the basic Blanchots, but with its somewhat sweeter impression nicely countered by harmonious acidity..."
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Chablis Grand Cru La Réserve de l’Obédience – 2015 – 96 points – Decanter
"Powerful mineral nose, has heft and assertiveness. Aged mostly in oak, but not new oak, so the wood adds texture rather than flavour. Very rich with a distinct sucrosity, it seems to have less initial grip than the regular Blanchots, but then the mineral bite and grip creep up on the finish. Very long."