gran cru chablis

[Robert Nesta Marley]

i've been drinking a lot of gran cru chablis lately, so it's been on my brain. i'm also tasting domaine laroche's new releases tomorrow, so i thought i'd inquire....favorite vineyards? vintages? producers?

right now bougros is at the top of my list. perhaps 89 or 90 from brocard or renee dauvissat. but i haven't tasted from preuses--what i understand to be richer in style--or valcluse. does anyone like wine from these vineyards?

note on a related wine....stony hill chardonnay is very chablis-like. no oak, quite steely. there's some about town (in nyc).

[MartyL]

Hey Nesita,

Have you seen Allen Meadows' latest edition of his Burghound Not newsletter? Not only does it include exhaustive reviews of virtually all the producers' 2000 Chablis, but it includes a pretty definitive essay on the terroir of the various sites and vinification techniques and styles. Its some of the best wine reading I've seen around in a while.

I haven't tasted any 2000s yet, but the big surprise to me in the Burghound reviews was how much he liked the Fevre wines. Sure, its a no-brainer to praise Raveneau and D'Auvissat, but Fevre's wines are significantly cheaper, and due to the wood philosophy of the house, I would ordinarily expect them not to be so appealing to someone as terroir-focused as Allen Meadows, but he really gave them stellar reviews.

Friends who tasted the 2000 D'auvissats recently tell me they were unreal---especially the Prieurs. They are available at Chambers St. but cost a pretty penny.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

martyL,

i didn't feel like paying for the burghound access, so i don't think i can read the analysis you're talking about, can i? perhaps i can get my hands on it somehow...thanks for the heads up on that one.

yeah, i had domaine defaix 2000 from bougros. wow. and not even a favorite producer of mine. it was fat & concentrated.

[marcus]

I am a big fan of Verget's wines, although there are differences of opinion as to Guffen's winemaking style. Bougros is one of my favorites, also Valmur which has perhaps a bit more complexity. Although Chablis is an early maturing wine, 2000 strikes me as just too young to dirink for a fine example. In my experience, white Burgundies are the least rewarding wines to drink too early.