Vieilles Vignes des Minots Vaillons, Chablis Premier Cru, France

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Guffens’ 2006 Chablis Vaillons Vieilles Vignes des Minots was harvested early, from 70-year-old vines, and was vinified and initially aged in previously-used barriques, then transferred to tank after eight months to – as he put it – “keep minerality,” and bottled in October. Smoky and citrus zest pungency accent a nose of ripe peach, pear, blueberry, high-toned herbal essences, and fresh lime. A plush, rich, lees-enriched texture does not preclude juicy brightness and – as advertised – retention of mineral dimension in the form of chalk, wet stone, and savory shellfish stock sweetness. This winsome wine should gain further stature in bottle and be worth following for at least 5-7 years. Jean-Marie Guffens has gone back to vinifying Chablis at his facility in the Macon, immediately after pressing in Chablis (a residency required for appellation controlee) and a highly selective separation of the juice. Guffens was quite bullish on the 2006 vintage – although he characterizes it as “exotic” rather than “classic” – and could afford to be, after having sat out 2005, and given the early harvest in 2006. (It’s always harder, he points out, to get growers to collaborate in a vintage that demands risky restraint and late picking, as did 2007, when Guffens purchased fruit from only a single supplier and cru.) Even given early picking to retain acidity, says Guffens, the freshness and length that characterize the best of them would not have been possible save for two factors. Most important were the relatively low pH levels that characterized the 2006 fruit. But secondly, the levels of total acidity actually rose during fermentation (presumably a function of the production of succinic acid as a fermentative by-product, a phenomenon in many ripe Riesling vintages as well).Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93