2006 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Montmains 1er Cru

Comprising fruit from Les Forets, Bouts des Butteaux, and (true) Montmains, the relatively late-harvested Fevre 2006 Chablis Montmains (raised in a 60:40 ratio of tank to barrel) reveals similar richness, but new dimensions of minerality and complexity when compared with the corresponding Beauroy. Tangerine, peony, orange blossom, and herbal essences in the nose slightly suggest muscat. In the mouth, chalk, salt, and scallop-like flavors inflect ripe peach, tangerine, and lime, and without sacrificing any purity of fruit or a refreshing juiciness that carries into a long finish, this offers a tactile sense of chalkiness and subtly satisfying hints of oak. I would not hesitate to hold it for up to half a dozen years. Didier Seguier has presided over a remarkable surge in quality at this address during the past decade in which Henriot has owned Fevre. The wines are now every bit as impressive as the estate’s vast and superbly-situated acreage, not to mention uncannily consistent in quality. Somehow, Fevre has acquired a reputation in some quarters simply for their widespread use of oak. In fact – just as at the region’s other top addresses, Dauvissat and Raveneau – the wood here is nearly always discreet, and Seguier is keen to finish the elevage on most of his wines in tank once he deems them to have spent long enough in barrel. Hand-harvesting and two sorting tables help insure quality of fruit, and Seguier’s insistence that botrytis was unproblematic for him in either 2006 or 2005 is ably supported by the gustatory evidence. Fermentation was relatively rapid, he relates, and the malo-lactic transformation not especially profound, due to the dominance of ripe, tartaric acid in the fruit. With one exception, the grand cru wines (all of which are vinified ca. 80% in barrel) had just been prepped for bottling (including cross-flow filtration) when I tasted them, but that did not prevent them from showing brilliantly. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6706

Yellow-green color. Aromas of white plum, white pepper and spices. Dense, rich and ripe but youthfully closed. This really boasts the breadth and sweetness of the vintage's best examples but will also need time in bottle to show itself.

Grassy citrus. Slightly smoky and broader than the Beauroy. Very crisp and refreshing finish. (JH)