5 recent Chablis from Frederic Gueguen - 2005s and 2008s

Since I recently received my 2008s from Frederic Gueguen, I've been working my way through the different bottlings, along with some from the 2005 vintage.

• 2005 Domaine des Chenevières Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  (9/30/2010)

  Light gold. Lemon curd, briny minerality, and apple aromas. On the palate this has a fairly thick fruit character, as far as Chablis goes. There's definitely some acidity energy to it, but precious little snap. Nice stony texture on the back end and finish though, with a hint of citrus to boot. Much better than a recent bottle of the '05 l'Homme Mort, just missing a little verve. Although I should not that this gained grip as it warmed to room temp and got some air. Still, I'd hedge on the side of drinking this in the near term to avoid potential premox issues.

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• 2008 Domaine des Chenevières Chablis Les Grandes Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Chablis

  (10/29/2010)

  The nose here opened with some slight reduction and apple notes. A hint of saline minerality crept in later, but mostly took a back seat to the ripe fruit scents. On the palate this begins somewhat round and forward (by Chablis standards at least), seemingly simple and lacking in depth and acidic cut. Disappointing and not the profile I'm looking for. But the finish comes on strong and shows the extract and acidic tingle that was missing before. This lingers very well and I'm inclined to think it needs a bit of time to sort itself out and let the primary fruit recede.

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• 2008 Domaine des Chenevières Chablis 1er Cru L'Homme Mort

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  (10/31/2010)

  Classic aromas of seashell minerality and citrus. The palate is defined by its racy acidity and sense of taughtness. There's some fruit to buffer the structure, but this is more of the chiseled-from-stone type of Chablis. The acids really grip the palate and linger with an impression of salty lime. Obviously young, hopefully with potential, but drinking well now if you like them that way. And I do.

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• 2008 Domaine des Chenevières Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  (11/10/2010)

  This seems a touch riper on the nose than the '08 l'Homme Mort, with a hint of apple to accompany the stony citrus character. The palate is also a bit broader. There is a lemon curd richness that buffers the acidity, and the back end is not so energetic. This is a finely balanced, medium to light weight Chablis that was a real pleasure to drink. It was just missing the extra snappy verve of the l'Homme Mort.

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I've had mixed results with the 2005s in the past. Both bottles of the l'Homme Mort have been underwhelming. My prior bottle of the Fourchaume was corked. But the Cote de Lechet has been wonderful, more vibrant than the other two vineyards. On the 2008s, I am pleased with the vintage overall. The 1er Crus are excellent Chablis in a focused and pure style. The vintage has produced good concentration and bright, racy acidities. I suspect they will keep more of their taughtness with age than the '05s have now. The '08 Chablis Grandes Vignes (a VV bottling) is looser knit and less exciting at the moment. Hopefully it will evolve into a more focused wine with a little bit of age. In any case, I would recommend both the '08 1er Crus unhesitatingly, and the GV with some reservation. And I would suggest to anyone holding the 2005s to check in on your bottles! I'd love to have some more data points to judge these for the future. But notes on this producer are few and far between.