Clau de Nell, 2015 Update
It is only a year or so since I first got to grips with the wines of Clau de Nell, so this more recent meeting with winemaker Sylvain Potin was a useful opportunity to revisit some of the wines. It has of course been a difficult year for this little domaine, which was rescued from financial peril in 2008 by Anne-Claude Leflaive, under the auspices of Amis Vignerons d’Anne Claude. This organisation was established by Anne-Claude with her husband Christian Jacques as well as Claude and Lydie Bourguignon for the very purpose of helping out failing domaines such as this. Sylvain was duly installed, and has been running the domaine ever since; the wines have been well received, and the domaine would seem to be back on track. But then in April 2015 Anne-Claude died, after a battle with cancer.
This of course raises the question of ‘where now?’ for Clau de Nell, but I do not think we need fear too much. Although the Leflaive association has no doubt been helpful in terms of marketing, we should bear in mind that it is Sylvain Potin who has been tending the vines and making the wines, so there is no reason that should not continue unabated. As for the owners, I presume the other members of Amis Vignerons d’Anne Claude, or perhaps Anne-Claude’s héritiers, will continue to support the domaine as required. I certainly hope so, as these first releases are certainly interesting wines, and behind the scenes there are some tempting projects in development.
The wines reported on here were tasted with Sylvain a couple of months before the tragic news about Anne-Claude reached our ears.
The Wines
Kicking off with two vintages of the Grolleau, this is a wine that will perhaps upset purists who will look for something perhaps a little more pale and bright. This is a more concentrated, more imposing style of Grolleau, I confess one that I find rather attractive. The 2012 Grolleau nearly pipped the 2011 Grolleau to the post for my palate, the fresh and dainty fruits finely composed, with a firm tannic backdrop. The rather crunchy and croquant 2011 vintage at first paled in comparison, but it has in its favour both freshness and lift.
