The 2007 Chablis Fourchaume Vignoble de Vaulorent – from their top parcel in Vaulorent – delivers in spades the combination of fusil, chalk dust, and smoky notes that many locals relate to the smell of Kimmeridgian rock itself when broken apart. Whatever its origins, this family of what, by sheer default, can hardly be called anything but “mineral” notes combines harmoniously with luscious, bright grapefruit and lemon as well as high-toned herbal essences for a palate display uncanny in its combination of textural richness and palpable underlying extract with lift and elegance. A more savory sort of mineral character with hidden sweetness akin to raw shrimp or scallop wells up as this takes on air, and the wine’s finish positively reverberates in its oscillation of mineral and citrus, like the resonance of stone church walls after a choir has gone silent. This is bound to offer at least a decade of delicious excuses for metaphor, as well as versatility at table. 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

The Fevre 2007 Chablis Fourchaume – coming entirely from the Vaulorent (behind Les Preuses, and entirely distinct from the rest of Fourchaume) – offers an elegance and a mineral intrigue that I have never witnessed from fruit grown in the Ur-Fourchaume. Scents of sea breezes, chalk dust, and bitter-sweet floral perfume set the tone for an impression of remarkable buoyancy and of flavors that seem to waft or wash over the palate. Yet while there is caress to the finish, there is underlying refreshment from lusciously ripe citrus, and a sense of invigoration in the wine’s saline and citrus zest residues. I suspect this will be best enjoyed somewhat sooner than the very best Fevre 2007s, perhaps within 4-6 years. As with Montmains, there exists a corresponding non-estate bottling – from contract fruit grown in all four sites that are allowed to trade as “Fourchaume” – whose sheer generosity of fruit recommends it for early consumption, but which is not in the same league as the estate bottling. To avoid confusion – and since these non-estate cuvees are not sold in the U.S. – I have refrained from publishing a review. 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