Pale gold color in the glass. Subtle nose of pear and tropical fruit. Wonderfully complex mid-palate. Nice balanced acicity/minerality. Effortless finish.
Every time I have a bottle of good chablis I kick myself for not buying more of it. I’m a huge fan of this wine and love how it pairs with seafood. I’m sure this will get better for years to come, but it’s hard to be that patient.
Jan, didn’t we talk about this wine when I was over at your house last??
I’ve got some '07’s I’m waiting on with pre-arrival, and I’m looking forward to more whites with minerality.
Did you have some ‘seafood’ with it, or perhaps some ‘lakefood’?
Todd,
Paired with shrimp/pea pods and corn soup. You will be very happy with the '07s I’m sure. I need to find some more every day Chablis wines. Any recommendations out there ?
had a 02 Fourchame from WF over Passover that didn’t rock me.
If you specify what you mean by “every day Chablis wines”, I could likely suggest a few. If you like Chablis slanted towards tropical fruit, you may want to try some from the Bougros vineyards (grand cru).
My Chablis experience has been primarily Fevre '05s (Les Clos, Les Preuses, Bougros and Vaillons). I’d like to branch out and try some other makers. By “everyday” I meant chablis wines in the $25-50 range that don’t need extensive cellaring. thanks
Anytime. At that range, you could easily get some nice 1er crus (or even grand crus) from good makers (but not the grand crus of Dauvissat and Raveneau).
Those I like at the top end of that range are by R&V Dauvissat (Vaillons, La Forest, etc.). I also favor the Chablis of JP Droin and Daniel Defaix.
I, personally, tend to lean towards the steely, stoney, minimalist/no oak Chablis by Laurent Tribut (a son-in-law of Dauvissat; I like their very austere village Chablis and the Côte de Léchet) and Louis Michel (Florida Jim was the one who turned me on to this latter domaine). Both these makers’ lines should all be within the given range.
I particularly enjoyed the 2004 Chablis Montmains of JM Brocard which should be in the $30++ range. I haven’t had it in 2 years, but the last few times I had it, it was superb at its price. You may want to avoid the '99 Brocard Chablis Les Clos as 3 bottles I’ve opened recently were oxidized in varying degrees. Domaine Laroche’s Chablis Fourchaumes is also quite decent.
Hope that helps. Happy hunting.
Noel
Jan - year-in, year-out Vaillons is among the most approachable of the 1er Cru sites in Chablis. Noel - do you have any idea why some producers spell the vineyard Fourchaume and others Fourchame?
Hi, Glenn. I’ve never seen it spelled as “Fourchame”, but see that some pluralize Fourchaume and some don’t (the French don’t really pronounce the final “s” anyway). I am not really sure what “fourchaume” means but do know that “four” is an oven and “chaume” is thatch.
Thanks Glenn and Noel. I will definitely look out for the Brocard. Any thoughts as to whether Brocard Mountmains is predicable in its quality from year to year or if '04 was a standout year ?
I am a fan of their Les Preuses. The 04 was rockin.