2010 Chablis Reserve de l'Obedience

White truffles, orange zest and mint lead to layers of complex, nuanced fruit in the 2010 Chablis Les Blanchots Reserve de l’Obedience. This is an especially full-bodied, racy Chablis backed up by serious richness to match its nuanced, multi-dimensional personality. Laroche’s Reserve de l’Obedience is one of the most distinctive wines I tasted on my trip to Chablis this year. The 2010 was aged in 80% oak and 20% steel. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Domaine Laroche is back in the US market after an absence of several years. The house style is marked by a search for considerable textural richness, which makes these some of the deeper, more opulent wines made in Chablis. Over the last few years, Domaine Laroche has begun to focus on organic viticulture and increased the use of indigenous yeasts, both of which are rare in Chablis. All of the Domaine Laroche wines are bottled under screwcap, also rare in Chablis, especially at this level. Winemaker Gregory Viennois told me the 2011 harvest started on September 12, towards the later side for the village. Viennois noted that potential alcohols and acidities were quite similar for both 2010 and 2011, which is unusual among the top domaines in Chablis. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Bright yellow. Reticent nose hints at gingery spices; quickly shut down in the glass. Densely packed but precise and vibrant, with terrific citrus energy giving this a much more penetrating and less silky texture than the "regular" Blanchots. But this rather austere 2010 is even longer on the mounting, palate-staining back end. Built for a long and graceful evolution in bottle: I wouldn't go near this for at least seven or eight years.

Not given away! Really quite intense on the nose and with a hint of oak, even honeyed oak. This is the luxury liner version of Chablis. All physical comforts in evidence. Almost rich, but actually minerals dominate. Not quite as purist as the rest of the Laroche range. (JR)