2011 Chablis Les Preuses

Tasted just two weeks after bottling, Pethel’s 2011 Chablis Preuses was harvested already on September 12, but was extremely slow in fermentation, leading to a reluctant decision (for him) to encourage completion by warming the tank into which it had been pressed. (Ironically, as has long been done in Burgundy with admirable results – even back when it was technically illegal – the must had been lightly chaptalized in the course of fermentation with the aim of extending it. In the event, the finished wine is still barely 13% alcohol.) Scents of lemon, lime, and more exotic citrus mingle with musk, white truffle, lightly toasted hazelnut and intimations of ocean breeze in an arrestingly diverse and intriguing aromatic display. The maritime and citrus allusions are realized in spades on this wine’s dense, lush palate, with pungent citrus oils and piquancy of pips spiking an amalgam of oyster liqueur and lemon juice, leading to a finish of nearly eye-watering and certainly salivary gland-milking intensity – brine, chalk, iodine, and myriad ineffable mineral elements leaving a near-indelible impression. This youthfully brash yet rich Preuses is almost sure to reveal more of the site’s alluring exoticism and continue to dazzle through at least 2025. I tasted with Blair Pethel (for more about whom consult my report from the Cote d’Or in issue 180) while passing through Beaune in mid-May, at which time his 2012 Chablis was still hard at fermentative labors. But the opportunity was not to be missed to catch-up in bottle with his two previous installments of Preuses, whose fruit from nearly 60-year-old vines he has been purchasing since 2007 and in whose farming he participates in the course of 4-5 annual visits. This bottling matures in older barriques for 6-7 months before further evolving and stabilizing over an extended period in tank. In case it has eluded any Chablis lovers out there – and I have good reason to believe that is the case – Domaine Dublere Preuses is (“consistently,” one can by now add) one of the most exciting half-dozen wines of the entire Chablis region. A Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011- 333-80-24-29-70