Description
Domaine Michel Caillot, “Les Herbeux” Bourgogne Blanc
If you think Domaine Caillot is unhinged for allowing 5+ years to pass before releasing today’s 2015 Bourgogne Blanc, then its $34 price tag will make you question your own sanity. That’s what we did when encountering the previous vintage last year, and the more we researched, the more illogical it all became: This prosaic “Bourgogne” label holds a fascinating secret, one that’s responsible for equipping it with several extra dimensions. The clue lies within “Les Herbeux.”
This tiny vineyard sits smack dab in the middle of Meursault, literally bordering “Clos de la Barre” which was made famous by legendary Comte Lafon’s $200+ bottling. And yet, that’s still not enough for Caillot: Not only does he farm organically, but he also employs one of the most bewildering and committed cellar regimens imaginable by maturing today’s Chardonnay 2-3x longer than most estates. So here it is, an exemplary, incomprehensibly priced white Burgundy that’s resulted in innumerable “house wine” purchases around here. In other words, this is the epitome of insider Burgundy—a complex, long-aged, pitch-perfect Meursault without “Meursault” on the label hiking up the price. To my knowledge, we are the only retailer with current access to today’s 2015 and if you’re planning on waiting for the next vintage, consider this first: Our source tells us it hasn’t even been bottled yet! Up to one case per person.
Michel Caillot began working the vines in the late ‘80s when the domaine was run by his father Roger. After several backbreaking years of work, he was “upgraded” to the cellar and began perfecting his winemaking craft until completing his first unassisted élevage in the mid-1990s. Michel was able to do this so quickly by learning from the best: He’s the nephew of Pierre Morey, who was previously the cellar master of world-famous Domaine Leflaive for 20 years!
So, why isn’t this sensational Bourgogne Blanc labeled “Meursault?” Simple wine politics! When the Meursault appellation was created a half-century ago, a large portion of Burgundy still farmed various produce. At the time, “Les Herbeux” wasn’t planted to vines, so it wasn’t legally allowed to be classified. Soon after, the various crops were replanted to Chardonnay, and thus, a little-known “unclassified Meursault” lieu-dit was born. In the vineyard, Michel farms with organic practices and keeps yields low—well below the average for Grand Crus! In the winery, he exceeds all expectations of a $34 wine by employing an exceptionally long vinification: his cellar is so frigid, alcoholic fermentation generally takes six months to complete, and following that, malolactic can take a year-plus! All liquids in his three-story cellar flow via gravity and the wine matures in French barrels (~20% new for the 2015 vintage) before tightening up in stainless steel and being bottled without filtration. In total, the wines are released generally two years after most “normal” estates—a truly rare feat, and dying breed, in Burgundy!
To ensure that I hammer the point home, let me repeat myself: Resigning today’s Chardonnay to its broad-sweeping “Bourgogne Blanc” appellation would be a grave mistake—“Les Herbeux” lies in the heart of Meursault and it tastes like it in the glass, too. Today’s 2015 pours a brilliant yellow with silver-green hues and rolls out bright, ripe aromas of grilled peach, sliced pear, pineapple, green and yellow apples, lees, lime blossoms, crushed almonds, struck flint, crushed rock, lemon curd, and subtle baking spice. This is both fleshier and more reductive than the classic 2014 vintage we previously offered, and although some of you may be astonished to hear it—this is the more enjoyable wine. It’s not often I choose ’15s over ’14s in white Burgundy, but when a Chardonnay greets you with dense yet focused layers of yellow fruit, floods your mid-palate with rip-roaring energy, and then rolls into a long, mineral-marked finish. This is so impressive right now. Enjoy one now after a brief 20-minute decant and uncork your others over the next five years. Cheers.
