2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Bougros Grand Cru

Sweet lime, buddleia, lily, and hints of the ocean scent Fevre’s 2007 Chablis Bougros. On a creamy, dense palate, this gushes with liquid floral perfume, citrus, and an uncanny (more Preuses-typical) concentration of shrimp shell reduction and scallop whose sweet, saline, subtly iodine-bitter savor carries into a long, luscious yet lively conclusion. It took a while, relates Didier Seguier, to tame the inherent vigor of these deep, moisture-retentive soils, but tough love has – as this wine demonstrates – permitted the retention of infectiously ripe acidity and finesse to accompany Bougros largesse. Plan to follow this for a decade. Didier Seguier and his team have managed to follow up their amazing 2006s with an equally remarkable collection of 2007s (though he insists that 6 to 9 months after bottling – when I tasted them – “is the worst time for expressing the purity of fruit”!). Harvesting here began early, on September 6 – the earliest start on record save for 2003 – but without feeling any compunction about taking one’s time, Seguier emphasized. Even so, the task was completed in 11 days, harvesting fruit of impeccable ripeness and harmonious though prominent acidity at a time when many growers were wise not to have begun yet. Without question, the rigorous sorting that all of the grapes undergo here is among the keys to the purity and the transparency to nuance of these wines. As usual at this address, even when one reaches the roughly 80% level of barrique (none, new, though) a smell or taste of wood is the farthest thing from one’s mind. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6706