2002 Chablis Saint Martin

According to marketing director Lorraine Carrigan, winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye lightly acidified the musts in 2003, and then blocked as much of the malolactic fermentation as possible. About three-quarters of Laroche's production is negociant wine, but I focused my attention on the Michel Laroche's domain bottlings. Incidentally, Laroche continues to offer its agents the option of ordering even its grand cru wines in screwcaps.But Carrigan told me that some of Laroche's importers claim that their restaurant and consumer clients prefer corks.It should be noted that when Carrigan or Bourdonnaye show the Laroche wines, or send samples out of the region to competitions, it's the screwcap versions they routinely use.Laroche ripped out its virused Bougros vines following the 2001 vintage and is now in the process of replanting them.

Domaine Laroche owns about 100 hectares of vines, two-thirds of which are villages and also buys a good bit of must to support its production needs (Laroche typically offers about 5.2 million bottles a year, but produced 6 million in 2001). On my first appointment in the Chablis region in early June, director/winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye told me that vintage 2000 provided a better sugar/acid balance than 2002; in fact, he noted, the 2000s were higher in sugar and acidity than the newest crop of wines. All of the 2000s finished their malolactic fermentations, he added, but Laroche blocked about 20% of the secondary fermentation in numerous 2002 cuvees to retain a bit more malic acidity for freshness. Bourdonnaye told me that he used a lot of the lees in 2001, despite the rampant rot that occurred during an inclement September. Obviously this was a dangerous method in 2001 but I felt it was necessary to enrich the wines," he explained. Laroche's domain village wine is done entirely in cuve while 10%-15% of the premier crus (and 25%-30% of Vaillons and Fourchaume) are vinified in small barrels. The grand crus see a higher percentage of barriques with the Reserve de l'Obedience done entirely in small oak. Domaine Laroche was the only Chablis house that presented its wines cru by cru, with the 2002 and 2001 vintages of each wine side by side. This direct comparison only accentuated the blurriness of the 2001s. (Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL) Also tasted: 2001 Chablis Michel Laroche, 2001 Chablis Saint-Martin, 2001 Chablis Les Vaudevey, 2001 Chablis Les Fourchaumes Vieilles Vignes.