2008 Chablis Valourent

(from an impressive 3.63 ha parcel out of only 17 ha and most of it is hard by Les Preuses. Séguier calls this their "baby grand cru" as specific barrels are selected for vine age, concentration and power). This is one of those wines where you can sense the sheer depth of material simply based on the nose as the very dense citrus-based fruit displays additional hints of stone, tidal pool, algae, oyster shell and white flower aromas that give way to concentrated, serious and rich flavors that are actually quite fine before culminating in an explosively long and palate staining finish. A terrific wine that, like its stable mate, could easily pass for a grand cru. A knock-out.

Fevre’s 2008 Chablis Vaulorent – which, following my argumentative recommendation mentioned in issue 186, has been labeled without the name “Fourchaume” – lives up to the estate’s long-standing characterization of this site as their “eighth grand cru.” Blueberry and raspberry distillate as well as fresh lime, grapefruit and crushed stone both intrigue and invigorate on the nose, impressions reinforced on a palate that combines real richness of texture as well as succulence of fruit with bright acidity, citrus rind pungency, berry skin tartness, and a depth of marine mineral nuances. Vibrantly interactive and faintly sizzling in finish, this practically takes your breath away, and should continue dazzling for a decade or more. And given that this isn’t priced as a grand cru, it represents a remarkable Chablis buying opportunity. Perhaps in the final analysis most of the “genuine” Fevre grand crus have further to traverse in their evolution than this Vaulorent and will eventually overtake it in complexity, length, and energy ? perhaps. The 2008 collection fielded by Didier Seguier and his team maintains their recent streak of excellence, but in a reversal of vintage typicity, seems, if anything, more dominated by its acidity and minerality than the 2007s, and less effusive than many of its vintage. Between poor flowering and dehydration, the crop was down around 20% in 2008 even from that of its hail-trimmed predecessor. The wines as usual were racked from barrel after malo (which this year, meant in April); some were bottled during the summer but the grand crus and most of the premier crus were bottled last November and December. Several of the wines that I tasted (noted in the text, and of course labeled without the word “domaine”) incorporate purchased fruit, but beginning with this vintage, the Fevre team not only calls the shots but does the picking for all of the grapes that inform wines labeled with their name. Like Hugel in Alsace, Fevre has been impressed enough with the new generation of DIAM composite corks to adopt them for a majority of their bottlings, in fact with this vintage for everything save grand cru – so let’s hope their confidence is well-placed! It perhaps also bears repeating that in my opinion there isn’t a track record for aging yet that one can apply to Fevre’s last three collections, the quality having improved too much to extrapolate with any reliably from previous vintages, so please take my prognoses as intuitive hunches. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6706

Pale greenish-yellow. High-toned aromas of white peach, curry powder and crushed stone. Rather reduced in the mouth, but with noteworthy clarity to its stone fruit, pepper and spice flavors. This smooth and fine-grained wine reminded me of a dry riesling from Alsace Superb acids carry the fruit through a long finish, which features a lingering pineapple perfume. As I mentioned last year, winemaker Seguier refers to this distinctly different section of Fourchaume as the eighth grand cru of Chablis.