Premier & Grand Cru Chablis

Toby picked Chablis this month, which has always been my favorite subregion of the world for Chardonnay. Judiscous oaking here with high acids usually work out to beautifully balanced wines. Almost all of the wines reminded me of why I so much prefer Chablis for Charddonay, even over most of the rest of Burgundy. Also, I was reminded of how much age I prefer, even on white Burgs. While many of these were drinking beautifully today, I don't think any of them were peaking, and there was plenty still to be resolved in the top wines. I think there are more "+" ratings here than any tasting I've done.

A beautiful Pierre Peters Champagne started us off.

• NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Really pretty aromas of lemon, tart flowers, stone, rocks, and minerals. Nice palate, with tart lemons & lime, nice rocks, and some silent sweetness to it. Very pleasing texturally. Wow, really tart and puckering finish, which came as a surprise. Amazingly puckering acids. Interesting finish, texturally. Really coats my mouth.

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• 2003 Verget Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Caniculus Vieilles Vignes de Minots Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Very golden color... by far the darkest wine of the night. Large aromas, some funky oakiness coupled with cat vomit smell. Plenty of old wet wood flavors, like an old decaying barrel, and plenty of other funky flavors. There's mild acid, and it's fairly creamy in texture. As I held this in my mouth for a while the cat vomit thing made me also have a similar reaction, but I was able to swallow. Pretty drying on the finish, with more oak funk. Pretty gnarly. Some tart wood. Likely premoxed. 82 points if scoring.

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• 2004 Domaine Corinne et Jean Pierre Grossot Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 84 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  This wine was a very strange experience. The aromas are like a salty, chlorine filled pool. It also smells precisely like a strange, salted asparagus that's a little past it's prime, coupled with oysters. Very interesting, but not flavors that I'd call appealing. These flavors carry this wine throughout (aroma, palate, finish). Pretty tart. Feels thin and strange with these salted flavors. Not very appetizing for me.

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• 2008 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Aromas of pumpkin meat, and some chewy pork and lamb sausage cooked at an Italian restaurant. I also get a slight aroma of a new car's interior. The palate shows some wood, and while this isn't really an intense woodsy flavor, it does over power what else may be lying underneath. There is a nice tartness noticed on the palate, though. The finish is quite puckering and tart. Lots of lemon and quite structured. The wood feels more in balance with the acid at the end.

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• 2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  A little dank at first. With some swirling, I get asparagus and herb salt. Some wood fire. The palate shows more funkiness, is very tart, though also creamy; puckering on the palate and fairly closed. But wow, after the light flavors on nose and palate, I wasn't expecting the beautiful lotus this is on the finish. There is such graceful depth here. The texture is impressive, and this is pure seduction. After I swallow, this just opens more and more, as graceful swaths envelope my senses. Tart pickles and something I can only call a candied pretzel linger deep for me, but really it's the expansive textural experience where this wine kills. This has a 92-93 point finish, but the aromas and palate aren't quite there today, so overall 91+

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Quite large aromas. Very creamy smelling, definitely the oak is noticeable, but so is gritty minerality... the interesting thing is you can feel the texture even on the nose. Lush and creamy on the palate, but there is huge cutting acidity throughout which balances things nicely. Good apple components. Very well structured with nothing but pleasing notes. The balance on the palate is impeccable. Killer acids on the finish again, which is the dominant note. Really ripping, including under-ripe green apple skins. It stays awesomely acidic on the finish for up to a minute. This wine is still a baby wound up, but the structure and balance is still perfect today. 91+

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• 2008 Joseph Drouhin / Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Really large aromas, and quite fruity in nature. Almost candied, like cotton candy. Sweet oak. Pretty delicious. The palate is big and creamy, with tart apples, but there is definitely almost a notion of heavy cream, which is a little strange coupled with the strong acidity. The finish is great, with perfect acidity, and really high impact green apples. Really coats the mouth with its ripping acidity and the oakiness is left as well. This one will certainly improve. 90+

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• 2005 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Tart and slightly funky aromas, but honestly it's a little flat. Strange chunky texture, with some surprising almost woodsy flavors. Burt wood, and some pear. Spicy acids, but then this wine completely calms my whole body... like I just entered the alpha brainwave state of meditation. Fascinating. For me, this is definitely more of an experience than it is me paying attention to the flavors. I take a sip and all of a sudden I feel totally blissed out. Beautiful and wild. Things just got quiet... over and over again. Once the trance is lifted, the palate feels quite gripped and coated, with pleasing acids. Again, a wine that will do well with additional age. What an interesting experience this was... 90+

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• 1998 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Explosive aromas, and unique for the wines tonight. This is definitely taking on some tertiary development, showing some mushrooms cooked in olive oil, and some stinky rotting wood. There's some crisp apple hiding underneath as well. Overall I thought the aromas were slightly distracting. Chunky texture on the palate, with impressive tartness dominating and an interesting meaty fruit thing developing, coupled with the mushrooms at the end. Wow, again explodes on the finish as amazing acid comes in despite the funkiness earlier. This kills. The flavors on the finish make this wine feel way younger than what I get on the nose. Definitely feels like two different wines in one, and I wouldn't expect this finish after that nose. Still feels like it has plenty of positive evolution ahead of it. I think it probably also would have shown better on the nose if it had been open to the air for longer before serving; some of those funky aromas surely would have blown off. Still, very enjoyable. 91+

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• 2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Really rich, explosive, and vibrant! The depth here is truly stunning. The most going on of any wine here tonight. So beautifully balanced, with great fruit including pineapple and papaya, yet you can smell the rich acid and minerality. The palate again shows complex, raging interest. Fantastic. The richness is amazing. More depth. It's nicely creamy, but again perfectly balanced with the acid. The finish is really tart, and not nearly as much fruit on the finish as elsewhere. Great, though the finish doesn't quite live up to the aromas. The nose and palate are crazy open for business, though. Again, a wine that will only improve from this point, with several more points in it down the road. 93+

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• 2008 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Overall, too young and very closed down for me today. The aromas are creamy, showing an interesting, almost grassy aroma... also, like I put a fire to some white fruit. The palate is a little oaky, creamy, with really nice acids. Overall, very soft in texture. Good acids throughout the finish, though this is very light compared to the previous wines. Just feels closed, though it is vibrant.

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• 2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Valmur Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Horribly oxidized. Smells terribly rancid. Powerful aromas.

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• 2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  This was also prematurely oxidized on the nose and palate, as it was fairly muted with some very light, typical oxidative notes, but it was also totally drinkable. It has really nice acid on the finish and while certainly still a little deaf throughout, I would drink this. I'd even score it in the upper 80s.

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A major disappointed that both of Billy's 2002 Fevre's were premoxed! It was much appreciated that Billy popped the second after the first was off. Too bad it didn't work out. I've enjoyed Fevre wines while young in other vintages, and reminds me of why I became a strong buyer of these wines again in 2007: John Gilman, in his wonderful View From The Cellar, did a note about this in his 2007 white burg article:

"2007 is quite clearly the finest vintage yet here since the transition back to great, classic Chablis at this estate from the more new worldly and oaky style of the wines at the end of Monsieur Fèvre’s own era at the domaine. On top of the great quality here, the domaine is also one of the first to take proactive steps to address the problem of premature oxidation of the wines, and they have made a wholesale change in their cork regiment starting with the 2007s. The domaine is no longer using any corks rinsed with peroxide, as they have made the switch to the most expensive and most natural corks that they can find for their grand crus, which are rinsed with hot water solely and use paraffin for the outer coating. These corks cost one dollar each, which makes them feasible to use with the grand crus, but would add too much to the price of a bottle of premier and villages level Chablis here, so they have only been used for the grand crus. Below the level of grand crus, all of the Domaine William Fèvre wines from 2007 out will be sealed with Diam artificial corks, where the cork pulp is specially treated to remove any possibility of TCA before they are fabricated. The domaine has done experiments for several years already with this closure with good results for aging, so there is every reason to believe that the 2007 premier crus will evolve quite gracefully under their Diam closures."

David and Toby graced us with a couple additional beautiful Burgundies at the end of the evening. The Chassagne-Montrachet was really fun to drink directly after all these Chablis.

• 2006 Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle Domaine du Duc de Magenta 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  After a night of (mostly) lightly oaked Chablis, this comes across as an oak monster. Really really spicy oak, charred wood. Almost like a California Chard with the oak. Nicer balance on the palate, with some pleasing sweet fruit, candied spice, and really yummy. Here the oak is noticed, but it's in check. Again spicy oak on the finish, but not as dominant as the nose. Good and tart, and feels clipped by its own acid.

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• 2001 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  End of the evening wine, so no detailed notes on this. The aromas were a bit intense, with crazy spiced oak, a huge pine aroma, with a burnt clove streak running deep. Really pleasing, grippy, tart palate and nice finish... very long. After reading the Allen Meadows note, I think he nailed it exactly.

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After a lot of people left, Vivian whipped out her love, a beautiful bottle of Maderia. I wish everyone got to try this, because it was an absolute beauty. She asked me if I wanted to try it and I was definitely interested, but wasn't expecting to be balled over by this like I was. What an utterly captivating wine. I look forward to exploring Maderia in a bit more detail. This wasn't cloying in the slightest. A beautiful wine through and through.

• 1989 D'Oliveiras Madeira Malvazia Reserva 93 Points

  Portugal, Madeira

  I wasn't intending on paying as much attention to this Madeira as it demanded I do. What a beauty! The nose was a bit odd to me: it smelled like my snake had just shed and was slithering through 2 month old pine shavings. Odd. The palate is what knocked me silly and required the attention. The richness here is luscious. Fantastic balance as well, complete with acid. The texture is incredible, and this is definitely more about the palate experience for me than individual flavors (like the toasted almonds). Again, it's the acid streak that keeps this so in balance, and despite the obvious sweetness, it doesn't TASTE sweet. The finish is really spicy, with beautiful depth. It tastes exactly like the outside of a fire charred marshmallow eaten with burnt almonds. Absolutely supple texturally. This wine changes my view on Madeira, and I'll now seek out more. Thanks again Vivian!

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