2007 Chablis

The Droin 2007 Chablis – drawn from numerous villages on both sides of the river – smells of salted, herbed chicken stock and comes onto the palate with this impression allied to one of yellow split pea and fresh lemon. With more textural polish and nuanced, chalky, saline, subtly bitter and mineral finishing character than the corresponding Petit Chablis, but less grip or energy, it too should remain deliciously versatile for least 2-3 years. In striking contrast with the experience of most of his colleagues, Benoit Droin’s 2007s were very slow to begin – much less complete – their malolactic transformations. Droin believes in the potential of machine harvesting in a majority of his vineyards, even in a year with hail, and the bottled results once again point up the foolishness of glib generalizations such as abound on that particular subject. That said, the potential weak spot in some of his 2007s – perhaps due to much-reduced yields, perhaps to hail per se, and a feature to which some tasters will certainly be more sensitive than others – is their tendency toward bitterness. These wines weighed-in in the low 13s natural alcohol, a bit higher than the vintage norm. Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565