Domaine des Herbauges, 2016 Update
The 2015 vintage seems to have been kind to the vignerons of the Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu appellation. The wines of Nicolas and Hervé Choblet of Domaine du Haut Bourg, the notes on which I inserted into my Muscadet 2015 report, suggested plenty of potential. Now I come to a near neighbour (and a cousin too), Jérôme Choblet (pictured) and Domaine des Herbauges. These wines were tasted with Jérôme in London, and all were brut de cuve samples from the 2015 vintage, further expanding my coverage of this vintage.
The Wines
After starting with the 2015 Moulin d’Argent, a vin de pays Chardonnay, it was a significant step up to the 2015 Classic cuvée and then again to the 2015 Clos de la Sénaigerie. The former of the two Muscadets showed a good combination of fruit and the salty minerality that for me typifies the Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu appellation, as does the latter wine although with a touch more substance and depth.
Next Jérôme poured two different versions of the 2015 Fief Guérin, probably the wine I have encountered most frequently not least because it is carried by Waitrose, a superior (I can’t really think of any other way to describe it – perhaps ‘posher’ would do?) UK supermarket. The usual blend came first, which was very correct, followed by ‘Jérôme’s blend’, a selection from a more specific corner of the vineyard, featuring more amphibolite. As far as I am aware this was really just for Jérôme’s interest, and won’t be commercially available; this is a shame, as I’m sorry to inform UK shoppers that I found the second version several notches more exciting than the usual assemblage.
