Champagne Alsace Loire Valley Burgundy Rhône Provence Languedoc Roussillon Southwest Bordeaux

france: burgundy

Gilbert Picq et ses Fils, Chichée

Brothers Didier and Pascal quickly established themselves as rigorous growers after taking over this 32-acre domaine from their father in 1976. They prune severely in winter and de-bud twice in spring for low yields. They farm according to the ecological but pragmatic principles of lutte raisonnée, or reasoned fight. They do their fermentations and ageing in steel (save for one barrel an Asian importer demands). They look for elegance, length, purity and minerality in their wines, while aiming for moderate levels of alcohol and age-worthiness. It’s kind of a nice throwback.

The domaine and its vineyards are in the commune of Chichée, upstream from the town of Chablis and the grand crus in the Serein River Valley. The hills are steep here and are graced with two noble premier crus facing each other across the river: Vosgros and Vaucoupin. The latter is especially noteworthy, for Vaucoupin occupies the same contours as the grand crus on the right bank and is considered to be one of the best premier crus in Chablis.

The big change of late here happened with the 2006 vintage, when the brothers got a sorting table. This enabled them to control their grape selections to the point where they elected to forgo yeast inoculations. Didier admits to a number of sleepless nights because the fermentations were consequently much slower than normal, but the longer malolactic fermentations resulted in better textures, and so he has continued working with indigenous yeast in subsequent vintages.

The Wines

Chablis: Normally this comes from 12 parcels and is invariably chock full of flinty seashell essence, making it a quintessential Chablis.

Chablis Dessus la Carrière: The name translates as "over the quarry," for the two parcels that are reserved for this wine grow above an old quarry in a bed of pure Kimmeridgian limestone (murder on tractor implements…). Both parcels were planted in the 1970s, one with a clone, the other with a sélection massale, and the two cover just under five acres of ground.

Chablis Vieilles Vignes: This comes primarily from two hand-harvested parcels (occasionally part of a third is added) of 50+ year-old-vines totaling 0.77 acres.

Chablis 1er cru Vosgros: The Picqs have two parcels here totaling 3.5 acres. The larger of the two was planted in the 1960s; the smaller (half the size) was planted in the early 1980s. Vosgros has a lot of rock, and its wine is stricter and more austere—or, as Didier would say, more masculine—than its sibling premier cru.

Chablis 1er cru Vaucoupin: The domaine’s 1.5 acre parcel was planted in 1989 on terrifically steep, south-facing hillside and is always hand-harvested. Despite its steepness, Vaucoupin has more clay and soil than Vosgros, adding richness and fat to this Chablis’ bones.