The Laroche 2007 Petit Chablis - from contract grapes - mingles salted, herbed chicken stock with lemon and marginally ripe peach, with a smoky, chalk dusty aromatic overlay. It boasts admirable buoyancy and clarity in a finish defined by mineral nuances of smoke, chalk, salt and stone, with more brightness and personality than the corresponding simple Chablis. Like a number of 2007s from this under-appreciated appellation, it displays considerable stuffing and a suggestion of textural richness despite the relative austerity and adamant mineral cast to its flavors. It should remain enjoyable for at least 18-24 more months. The almost explosively aromatic, rather Sauvignon-like 2008 is typical for its vintage and precociously delicious, if less concentrated.
Winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye seems bullish on his 2007s and their aging potential, despite emphasizing what he felt was the need to extensively work what lees he retained, and to bottle correspondingly later to avoid too-lean an impression. Having said that, de la Bourdonnaye then goes on to observe that he thinks the use of screw-cap closures - to which this estate was among the first in France to commit - is especially well-suited to the personality of the vintage, and to -the preservation of precision and minerality during long aging.- The majority of the 2007 wines here came in at little more than 12% potential alcohol, he relates, and chaptalization was negligible. It was announced in late September that Languedoc negociant Jeanjean had acquired Laroche, although early indications pointed toward continuity in the Chablis estate, with Michel Laroche remaining as director.
Importer: Remy-Cointreau USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 424-2244
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