Based on purchased fruit from old vines which Piuze says always feature lots of millerandage (shot berries) and must in consequence be harvested early, the Brocard 2006 Chablis Mont de Milieu shows overtly chalky, saline, lemon zesty, and chewy fruit skin character along with ripe yellow plum. Rather austerely stony and bitterly pungent in finish, this formidably-concentrated but somewhat stiff Chablis might gain charm with a couple of years in bottle, however given so many excellent alternatives even within this collection, it would not be my candidate for aging. The long, bittersweet 2005 completely outclasses this, incidentally. Since my visit, Quebecois cellarmaster Patrick Piuze, who arrived here in 2005 from Verget, has been replaced by Nadine Gublin of Domaine Jacques Prieure. A significant portion of the vast Brocard estate is now being farmed biodynamically. Piuze, like many vintners this year, favored racking his young wines off their lees earlier than usual with the intention of avoiding any heaviness. I did not by any means taste all of the enormous range of wines crafted at this address, and including several different labels. Brocard bottled from 2006 the first commercial quantities of three premier cru cuvees under the name “Quintessence,” each representing a broad range of sites that precludes “single vineyard” status. (I place that expression in quotes, since the names of many of the best-known premier crus by law already serve as collective or alternate names for certain nearby crus.) The blends are largely determined as juice, subject to some later fine-tuning.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400