The 1997 Chablis Vaillons has a nose composed of pineapple, wood spice, and anise. Expressive, feminine, and medium-bodied, it possesses a flavorful core of spicy white peaches, minerals, and almonds. This wine, which merited a "super good!" in my notebook, will be delicious to drink upon release yet hold through 2005. "The 1997 vintage produced very good wines. At harvest the grapes were gold colored, showed no signs of rot, and had huge physiological ripeness," said Vincent Dauvissat, the energetic and bright director of this renowned estate. "They are wines of pleasure that can be drunk early but that will age longer than most people think. They are not over-ripe monsters because there was little loss of acidity after the malo-lactic fermentations." Dauvissat informed me that his yields were high in 1997, "but not massive" (they ranged from 60 hectoliters per hectare (h/h) on the premier crus to 50 h/h on the grand crus). None of Dauvissat's 1997s were chaptilised as they were harvested between 12.5% and 13.2% natural potential alcohol.
The few readers who have extensive knowledge of Chablis' historical vintages may be interested to know that Dauvissat believes his 1997s most resemble the 1962s, another warm year that produced very ripe and healthy grapes.
Other wines tasted: 1996 Chablis (88), 1997 Petit Chablis (86).
Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802.
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