Article: 2022 Louis Michel Chablis 1er Butteaux Vieilles Vignes
2022 Louis Michel Chablis 1er Butteaux Vieilles Vignes
Beginning of August, we sent a clear message to Chablis lovers: with market conditions tightening, it would be wise to stock up on the great wines still available. Many of you took that advice, and our first allocation of Louis Michel sold out instantly, shutting many of you out.
After waiting through the chaos of harvest for confirmation on more, I’ve finally secured one last, small parcel of my favorites.
This is the good news. The bad news is that the market situation has become even more serious. The 2024 vintage in Chablis was a complete disaster, ravaged by frost and hail. This, combined with tariffs, means the flow of great, well-priced Chablis is beginning to dry up. Nobody is more upset about this than me.
My advice is unchanged and more urgent than ever: if you love Chablis, you will want to put at least a six-pack or two of these in your cellar. A year from now, you are going to look like a genius.
These wines from Louis Michel, aged in 100% stainless steel, reveal the brilliance of their terroir with absolute clarity. It continues to astonish me that they remain so undervalued, but that WILL change.
This is most likely the final call on the brilliant 2022 and 2023 Louis Michel. Don't miss out this time.
(P.S. There is a bright spot on the horizon. Vignerons are optimistic about the 2025 harvest, but those wines are years away. What's in the market now is all we'll have for some time.)
Cooler and more restrained aromas of tidal pool, essence of pear and similarly prominent mineral reduction nuances are complemented by vibrant and solidly voluminous flavors that possess a lovely, even caressing, texture before terminating in lightly austere, dry and more complex finale that is also more powerful.
- Burghound, 90
The 2022 Chablis Butteaux ler Cru comes from clayey soils that can easily become compacted and like "concrete" in dry conditions. It has a lovely nose with touches of yellow plum and mirabelle, very pure with an underlying mineralité coming through with aeration. The palate is well-balanced with a slightly waxy, pithy entry. It is lightly spiced thanks to a dab of stem ginger, with fine depth and commendable persistence on the finish. This will need just a couple of years in bottle.
- Vinous Media, 90-92
This is similar to the regular cuvée except that it seems ever-so-slightly riper. By contrast, there is better concentration and power to the medium-bodied flavors and, somewhat unusually, the mouthfeel is finer as well, particularly on the more complex if also more austere finale. Lovely.
- Burghound 90-93 Outstanding!
The 2022 Chablis Butteaux Vieilles Vignes ler Cru comes from vines around 70 years old, only slightly older than the regular cuvée, but on different soils (white clay rather than brown with high fossil content). It is usually bottled slightly later. The nose is a little more expressive with hints of red cherries and peach skin - very well defined. The palate is well-balanced with more harmony than the regular cuvée, a crisp line of acidity and touches of oyster shell on the saline finish. Great persistence here. Excellent.
- Vinous Media 92-94
Issuing from a single parcel and defined by 70-year-old vines affected by le court-noué virus that reduces yield and elevates maturity, producing small, concentrated berries, the 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux Vieilles Vignes is performing very well. Opening in the glass to reveal notes of iodine, beeswax and pear, it’s medium to full-bodied and layered, with considerable depth and a long, saline finish. Guillaume Michel admits that the 2022 produced wines with rather generous profiles and will require some patience for the terroir to shine.
- Wine Advocate 92+
This is aromatically quite similar to the regular cuvée though on the palate there is a bit more volume to the superbly intense, powerful and focused finale that is slightly firmer as well. This is potentially terrific and definitely one to look for.
- Burghound, 91-94 Sweet Spot Outstanding
Here too the nose is firmly reduced, which contrasts markedly with the fresh, bright and vibrant middle weight flavors that brim with minerality ono the beautifully textured, focused, mildly austere and sneaky long finale. This is potentially excellent and I really like the balance.
- Burghound, 90-93 Outstanding!
The 2023 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre ler Cru has an intriguing bouquet with dried honey and light scents of wet clay. The palate is very well balanced with a strict opening. Quite fresh with a streak of bitter lemon that lends tension on the finish. I would afford this a couple of years in bottle.
- Vinous Media, 90-92
