With a lovely nose of ripe pit fruits and sweet floral perfume, and a sultry richness, the 2006 Chablis Blanchots (which I tasted shortly before bottling) sacrifices clarity and juiciness vis a vis the premier crus in this year’s Long-Depaquit collection. Alkaline, nutty, faintly bitter notes in the finish – while offsetting the sense of sheer richness – do not lend this dense, full-bodied wine more than modest complexity or the sort of mineral savor displayed by the best 2006s, and I suspect it will be best drunk over the next 2-3 years. The 2005 displayed almost baked ripeness and a bitter-sweet concentration and was similarly a tad disappointing. The Long-Depaquit estate has been owned by the Bichot family of Beaune negociants for more than three decades, and with the re-emergence of that house as a quality force, one hopes that more attention will be paid to some of the most distinctive and age-worthy wines from one of the largest estates (including 1/6 of the grand cru acreage) in Chablis. Director Matthieu Mangenot and his team harvested in only 12 days.Various importers, including Atherton Imports, Menlo Park, CA; sales@awiwine.com