1996 Chablis Reserve de l'Obedience

Laroche's luxury cuvee, the Chablis Blanchots Reserve De L'Obediencerie (200 cases) is crafted from a selection of the finest barrels of Chablis Blanchots. Interestingly, it has none of the strong oak scents and flavors found in the firm's regular Chablis Blanchots even though the same percentage of new oak (20%) went into its assemblage. This fabulous wine displays a floral, mineral, and pear-scented nose as well as a tangy, highly-delineated and focused personality. Concentrated, silky-textured, and full-bodied, it has beautiful purity and elegance to its steel and flint-like flavors that seem to go on forever in its interminable finish. It should be at its peak between 2002 and 2010. (Note: In 1995, Laroche bottled the entire production of the Obediencerie in magnums, but had not decided whether to continue that policy with the 1996 when I met with him. The price listed is for a 750 ml bottle.) Michel Laroche, the dapper director of this large Chablis producer, stated he had not witnessed a vintage comparable to 1996 in the thirty years he has been crafting wines. Laroche sighted the bright sun (luminosite) that drove up sugar levels through photosynthesis while cool temperatures (22C daytime and 4C evening) maintained high acidity levels. He went on to say that 1996 is 10% richer in sugar and 10% higher in acidity than 1995, another excellent Chablis vintage. Furthermore, he said that in 1997 his wines attained high sugar levels from heat, not sun, and therefore had low acidity levels. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel (312) 247-7070.