2005 Chablis Saint Martin

My tasting here of Chablis finished with screwcaps was a fascinating exercise: what a treat to taste wines in which cork has been totally eliminated as a source of aromatic impurity. Indeed, these wines are highly perfumed and complex but extremely subtle, without any dulling influence of cork. And one can see oak notes for what they are, rather than confusing them with resiny, vanilla or caramel character from corks. With the exception of the village Chablis, all the wines I tasted at Laroche are estate bottlings. Incidentally, visitors to the sleepy town of Chablis now have another serious attraction in the wine bar/retail store complex (with hotel rooms to be added shortly) that Laroche has opened in a carefully renovated old building in the center of town along the Serein River.