Chablis Domaine Long Depaquit 2006, Albert Bichot

Chablis Domaine Long Depaquit 2006, Albert Bichot

Thought I should have some Chardonnay but I was to lazy driving 30km to the Weinstraße (German Wine Route) to Rhodt unter Riedburg (Pfalz/ Palatinate) where I had a good one recently so I had a look at the wine shop nearby.

Making jokes about french wine (like "what corresponds best with frogs" [just kidding]) with my buddy working there I decided for a Chablis Domaine Long Depaquit 2006, Albert Bichot, price about a third of what I have seen in the internet outside europe.

What should I say about it, being raised up with Pfalz wine, even with having a dry Bürklin Wolff Riesling some days before to be prepared for something not so sweet... It`s the most disappointing wine I had for a long time. Paying double price compared with 1999 Gewürztraminer Beerenauslese or 1,5 times the price of Bürklin Wolff 2005 Riesling Spätlese it must have been the most overpriced wine I had for a long, long time.

It has no color and for me it tastes like a fluid that has been drained out of a sock that has been soacked in some Chardonnay and then been laid into a sunny place for some days. I admit that it`s no vinegar but the cost-performance ratio - for me - is nothing but a joke. Seems like this wine is a typical export the-good-one-stays-here wine.

I know that there are bunch of good Chablis wines but this one doesn`t stand for them. If all wine there would taste like this nobody would have heard the name Chablis and they would plant potatoes, carrots and beetroots there.

Let me tell you one thing, having emptied half bottle of those 12,5% Chablis (by the way Chablis is the area where wine is made of Chardonnay vine so this wine is called "Chablis" and not Chardonnay):

Chardonnay has no long tradition being planted in "my area" Pfalz, it has been alowed for production of QmP Wine in germany in 1991, although some vintners "experimented" with it some time before. (QmP wine is Kabinett-Spätlese-Auslese-Beerenauslese-Trockenbeerenauslese-Eiswein [stages from fructose quantum of the grape most]). So from around the 1980`s this vine variety is planted in my "home area" with a harvest that is just enough for selling the wine in the restaurant and selling some bottles from their yard that costs a third or maybe the half of the price of this "Chablis Domaine Long Depaquit" and it is by lengths better than this fluid that just have to offer its name. Those vintners have just some rows of Chardonnay and sometimes it makes me wonder about if they know by themself how good their wine is.

I don`t like giving notes of "peaches, apricot, cinnamon" stuff cause people that know of peaches might notice that there are differences in these fruits to, but for this wine I make an exception. It has a flavour of pumpkin with a bit of a beetroot aroma. The color is like asparagus drain with a bit of a cooked potatoe juice. It comes in a bottle that looks like my overweight 70 year old neighbor seen from behind when bending over the carot field in his garden, with a label reminding me on cheesy neo renaissance odds and ends that those old women have in their houses where the windows are always closed and it smells a bit of those old dusty carpets and long dying dreams.

27 points for that stuff.

I just have to say this is one excellent tasting note!

I just have to say this is one excellent tasting note!

It is indeed! And it is a shame about the wine, too. I recently enjoyed a stunning bottle of their GC Moutonne 1988. Anyone have experience with more recent Moutonnes? Some '05 available here still.

-O

I just have to say this is one excellent tasting note!

It is indeed! And it is a shame about the wine, too. I recently enjoyed a stunning bottle of their GC Moutonne 1988. Anyone have experience with more recent Moutonnes? Some '05 available here still.

-O

Otto: The GC Moutonne is in my pantheon of great all time Chablis. It ages sumptuously. Last I had, sadly, was the 1999, so can't comment on the 2005.

It's a totally different creature from the AOC Chablis of Long-Depaquit. I used that recently for a comparative tasting, and it was not repellent to me; neither was it in any way compelling. And it did have a distinct earthiness. I actually thought it was rapidly decomposing from premature oxygenation, actually. Either that, or it had been subjected to some heat exposure.

Of course, it could've been a poorly made wine too.

Trivia: Did you know that Moutonne is the only Grand Cru Chablis that comes from two distinct Grand Cru parcels? Result of a court decree (I think in 1925) recognizing that Moutonne had traditionally been a blend of two distinct but contiguous parcels. The decree allowed them to continue.

A few months ago I had a half bottle of 2005 Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes that was quite simply, bar none, the worst burgundy I have ever tasted. A producer that I am determined to avoid...

A few months ago I had a half bottle of 2005 Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes that was quite simply, bar none, the worst burgundy I have ever tasted. A producer that I am determined to avoid...

I would tend to agree with you, Oswaldo.

And that is based on my being involved with the Bichot folks in some private-label/exclusive label importing for a retail chain many years ago. Had to be veeeery careful with their product, and eventually we (I) decided it was time to part ways.

However, I would hasten to add that, as iffy as the Bichot-negociant stuff can be (and it can be), the Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis and the Marechal red Burgundies are in an entirely different league normally.

I just have to say this is one excellent tasting note!

Yeah, love it. Just a reminder to one and all, we are tasting Chardonnay on Wine Focus this month.

- The Bichot firm owns Long-Depaquit but the entire operation is run largely independently, so there is zero correllation between Bichot wines and Long Depaquit wines. The chef de cave was until the early 2000's, Gerard Vuillien, who began making wines there in the 1960's and was one of the most knowledgable human beings on the subject of Chablis that I have ever met. He was succeeded by a young, talented M. Breteaudeau, who seems extremely capable as well.

- I haven't had the wine in question, and as such will reserve my comments. In other vintages I have thought it to be simply marvelous QPR.

- The Grand Cru la Moutonne is recognized by the INAO but NOT the BIVB. It is one of the most historic parcels in Chablis and straddles the Grand Crus Vaudesir and les Presues. la Moutonne has been drunk in the United States since the mid-1800's.

after a strong recco from a trusted source i bought a bottle of the '07 version of this chablis. i have to say, it was absolutely delcious - you couldn't expect more from a village wine. clean, fresh, correct and mid weight. went perfectly with wild halibut and beurre blanc. at $25 i wasn't robbed.

I remembered feelin a little more favorably about this wine, Richard, so I tried it again last night (lacking a previous tasting note). Here's last night's note:

Domaine Long-Depaquit 2006, AC Chablis, 15,95 euros. Tasted September 7, 2008
Appearance: clear wine with a pale straw core, slight tinge of green, a wide watery rim, and short legs.
Nose: this is a clean wine, with a pronounced intensity of young, fresh aromas with a character of tart apples, with some slight butteriness.
Palate: a dry wine with crisp acids, medium body and a character of tart apples and minerals with a slight bitter aftertaste, and a buttery mouthfeel. The alcohol is medium as is the length.
Conclusion: The quality of the wine is average. It's a simple, basic wine without huge complexity but very pleasant and correct. (It went very well with a piece of sauteed salmon.) Ready to drink now and over the coming three years.
cheers, Bonnie