2006 Chablis Terroir de Chablis

From vineyards near Butteaux and Montmains, Verget’s tank-fermented 2006 Chablis Terroir de Chablis received extended contact with and working of the lees, which shows in an impressive richness of texture. But there is also a winsome expression of Chablis minerality here as a rich shrimp- and lobster shell-reduction and a generous juiciness of fresh citrus. There is real buoyancy and delicacy as well as subtlety in the lingering finish of a wine I would feel comfortable cellaring for 3-4 years. Jean-Marie Guffens has gone back to vinifying Chablis at his facility in the Macon, immediately after pressing in Chablis (a residency required for appellation controlee) and a highly selective separation of the juice. Guffens was quite bullish on the 2006 vintage – although he characterizes it as “exotic” rather than “classic” – and could afford to be, after having sat out 2005, and given the early harvest in 2006. (It’s always harder, he points out, to get growers to collaborate in a vintage that demands risky restraint and late picking, as did 2007, when Guffens purchased fruit from only a single supplier and cru.) Even given early picking to retain acidity, says Guffens, the freshness and length that characterize the best of them would not have been possible save for two factors. Most important were the relatively low pH levels that characterized the 2006 fruit. But secondly, the levels of total acidity actually rose during fermentation (presumably a function of the production of succinic acid as a fermentative by-product, a phenomenon in many ripe Riesling vintages as well). Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93