Assembled from six disparate (but all Portlandian) parcels that they do not own but largely control, the Fevre 2007 Petit Chablis features marginally ripe apricot, gooseberry, sage, and grapefruit, allied to myriad expressions of things maritime, living and petrified. Bright, yet well-grounded by palpable extract, it finishes slightly spare, but with lip-smacking and invigorating salinity and citric refreshment. Allowing for a moment when one might think “Sauvignon?” this is a classic expression of Chablis the place. Didier Seguier and his team have managed to follow up their amazing 2006s with an equally remarkable collection of 2007s (though he insists that 6 to 9 months after bottling – when I tasted them – “is the worst time for expressing the purity of fruit”!). Harvesting here began early, on September 6 – the earliest start on record save for 2003 – but without feeling any compunction about taking one’s time, Seguier emphasized. Even so, the task was completed in 11 days, harvesting fruit of impeccable ripeness and harmonious though prominent acidity at a time when many growers were wise not to have begun yet. Without question, the rigorous sorting that all of the grapes undergo here is among the keys to the purity and the transparency to nuance of these wines. As usual at this address, even when one reaches the roughly 80% level of barrique (none, new, though) a smell or taste of wood is the farthest thing from one’s mind.Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6706