Alice and Olivier De Moor: Nice People, Great Wine!
We first met Alice and Olivier De Moor about 10 years ago, and were immediately struck by their shy and quiet but strong and focused personalities. The wines were fascinating and somewhat irregular and sometimes oxidative or oaky, although there was not a new barrel in sight. There was always high acidity, purity and length with an almost breathtaking stony character. Not your usual machine harvested, yeasted, modern Chablis. (In general, the wines are fermented and aged in old wood barrels, without sulfur, which is added in minimal quantities only at bottling. No fining, filtration or cold-stabilization, certified organic farming) The Chablis Rosette was great in 1999 and 2000, everything was good in 2002 and in 2005 they really seemed to hit their stride, producing a range of uniformly superb, complex and wonderfully unique wines. Last January I had the good fortune to taste 2010s from Eric and Christine Nicolas at Domaine Belliviere followed by the 2010s from the De Moors - two of the most interesting white wine producers in the world. What a great experience this was - 2010 may be the best vintage ever at both these estates. Fortunately for the De Moors, who faced the daunting financial task of starting from scratch and working organically in Chablis, their wines are now in great demand by lovers of natural wines around the world. Unfortunately, the quantities available to us are tiny. While we urge you to try these amazing wines, we may need to adjust quantities on any order over 3 bottles of each wine. (For more information on the wines and a great interview with the De Moors please follow this link)
