2008 Chablis Les Preuses

As with a number of the best grand crus this vintage, Vincent Dauvissat’s 2008 Chablis Preuses exhibits a vivacity, transparency, and lift one might more often anticipate in a premier cru. Scallop, iodine, shrimp shell reduction, distilled red and black fruits, grapefruit, white peach, and lime figure in the nose as well as on a bright, juicy, yet subtly creamy palate. The combination of richness with lift, caress with invigoration is remarkable, as is the sense of intricate interaction of elements in sharp, clear relief, leading to a sustained, kaleidoscopic conclusion. This should be worth following for 15, if not more, years. ||Vincent Dauvissat points out that at least at his estate, 1996 was at once more severe yet more alcoholic and more exotic in aroma than what he terms the “more classic” vintage of 2008. Both years featured long cool growing seasons and wind-driven concentration in the late innings, but the fruit in 2008 was cleaner, and entirely botrytis-free, Dauvissat maintains. He says his 2008s come closer in character to 2002. (Incidentally, at age six months, Dauvissat’s 2009s showed promising vivacity and mineral inflection for their vintage.) Wine Advocate.October, 2010