From the steepest part (dangerously so, says Julien Brocard) of this cru – opposite the woods of Lechet – and in its fourth year of farming by the Brocards, their 2007 Chablis Vau de Vey smells strikingly of musk, truffle, and vaguely animal scents mingled with citrus zest and quarry dust. Lemon, cherry, and yellow plum on the palate are tinged with the bitterness of fruit pits and a shrimp shell-like combination of savory salinity and iodine. Palpably dense, yet light on its feet, this finishes with impressive grip and refreshment. It should reward with at least a half dozen years’ cellaring. Enologist Nadine Gublin (also of Domaine Jacques Prieur) is now heading the team here, although I can’t claim that any change in style was noticeable to me after only one vintage, a vintage that certainly inherently contributed to the less than forthcoming nature of many of these wines, as well as to greater irregularity in quality than those of 2006. I found myself less satisfied with this year’s grand cru bottlings as a group – after being puzzled by how several of the 2006s showed at a comparable stage, too – than I was with those of ostensibly lesser pedigree. A majority of the acreage controlled by Brocard is now being farmed biodynamically, and Julien Brocard suggests he may soon set some sort of record for surface area under such a regimen. Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400