2010 Chablis Vaillons

The 2010 Chablis Vaillons emerges from the glass with an expressive bouquet redolent of gunpowder, salt and crushed rocks. This is quite rich on the palate, where the fruit tends toward yellow stone fruits. Voluptuous, lush and intense, the Vaillons, nevertheless, retains great minerality and harmony. This is a beautifully complete and well-balanced wine. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Fevre was among the first producers to bring in their 2011s. The 2011 harvest started on August 31st, the earliest on record with the exception of 2003. Winemaker Didier Seguir was quick to add that 2011 was a precocious year, but not as shockingly hot as 2003. Early April and May were very hot, which led to an early flowering, but then temperatures moderated in June. Hail at the end of June and early July affected Fourchaume, Vaulorent, Preuses, Vaudesir and Clos, all on the right bank, where production was down 5-30%, which placed yields at 40-50 hectoliters per hectare as opposed to the 50-60 that were obtained on the left bank, where hail was not an issue. Seguir lightly chaptalized some of the wines, and noted that the acidities came in around 4-4.5%, which he describes as moderate (along the lines of 2000 and 2002) and lower than 2008 and 2010. When the Fevre wines are young, they appear to be very tight and in need of cellaring. At the same time, it is hard for me to suggest holding these wines for more than a few years, as I have personally had a lot of issues with premature oxidation with Fevre wines from my own cellar. To be fair, since 2007 all of the wines have been sealed with the Diamant corks, which are made from a combination of natural and synthetic materials designed to allow for the gradual exchange of oxygen that is so important for wines to age gracefully with more reliability than standard cork. The 2011 Petit Chablis was bottled at the end of April 2012, followed by the Champs Royaux in May and the Chablis (domaine) in early June. All of the other 2011s were still aging on their lees in tank. As has been the custom here for the last few years, Seguir does a fairly short elevage in largely neutral oak that lasts 4-6 months, after which the wines age in tank. Note: the overwhelming majority of the Fevre wines are Domaine Fevre, but there are a few wines in this lineup that are made from purchased fruit. Those wines are identified as (maison) in the wine name. There are two bottlings that are made in both a domaine and maison version, the straight Chablis (I only tasted the domaine bottling) and the Montmains (I tasted both). The 2010 premier crus were bottled after the 2011 vintage, while the grand crus were bottled last December. Importer: Henriot Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605 670

Pale, bright greenish yellow. Expressive aromas of pineapple, grapefruit, herbs, anise and peppermint. Suave and energetic on entry, then tight and sharply defined in the middle, with terrific mineral cut to the lemon and grapefruit flavors. Finer-grained than the Montmains but also a bit more austere today. Finishes juicy, vibrant and long. This really needs a good five or six years in the cellar. Didier Seguier now bottles all of his wines in DIAM corks, using the denser, more hermetic DIAM 10s (guaranteed for 10 years) for all of the Fevre wines from Montee de Tonnerre on up.

Pale yellow with green highlights. Reticent but pure aromas of ripe peach, pineapple and brown spices, plus a whiff of banana. Sweet, silky and a bit exotic but with surprising gingery acidity giving shape to the ripe fruit and lichee flavors. A bit youthfully disjointed today. Finishes with a minerally juiciness and plenty of nuance. This wine comes from a steep, sunny slope in the heart of Vaillons, according to winemaker Seguier.