Pungent, musky floral perfume, an aroma of green tea, and a dominance of tangerine, grapefruit, and their zests lend Droin’s 2007 Chablis Montmains a family resemblance to his Vosgros. Here, though, there is mouth-filling, juicy primary citrus that over-rides tendencies toward bitterness; rather aggressive spiciness (perhaps botrytis-influenced?); a striking, wafting persistence of floral notes; and a savory saline aspect that helps make the finish lip-smacking and invigorating. Around a third of this wine was raised in used barriques, but their presence is not overtly noticeable. I imagine this will be worth following for 4-5 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