2008 Chablis Les Clos

Scents of white peach, white currant, and grapefruit mark the nose of Laroche’s 2008 Chablis Les Clos, which then comes to the palate with a delightful and striking combination of richness and invigoration. White pepper, citrus rind and crushed stone add pungent punctuation to the generous and refreshing matrix of peach and white currant. While this is denser than the corresponding Blanchots, it equally well illustrates the ability this year of certain Chablis to be every bit the grand cru in character yet to preserve a sense of premier cru energy, tension, and relative levity. I suspect this will be worth following for a decade, and also that it had not entirely recovered from its recent bottling. The Languedoc negociant and multiple estate-owner Jean Jean has bought-out Michel Laroche’s domaine, but for now at least, Laroche and winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye remain, and the quality and style of their 2008s is entirely consistent with that of other recent vintages. Incidentally, Laroche – a pioneer in France with utilizing screwcap closures – has switched to a saranex liner that de la Bourdonnaye says is designed to and does mitigate tendencies toward reduction that he and his team (and occasionally I) have noted in some past cuvees. Given the Sauvignon-like aspects of many of the 2008s here, I had wondered (prior to learning of this closure change) about continued hints of reduction in a couple of instances here as well. The lees were stirred actively to promote textural richness, which indeed most of these wines impressively exhibit, and there was some light chaptalization of musts that for the most part came in closer to 12% than to 13% potential alcohol. Importer: Canon Wines, Ltd., San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 394-6454