2006 Chablis Saint Martin

Winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye told me that Laroche began harvesting its domain vines in 2007 on September 12, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol between 11.6% and 12% at the premier cru level (or about a degree lower than in 2006). "But the grapes were completely mature, and we did not chaptalize," he explained. "It was necessary to do a long settling of the must, a full 48 hours. After the first day, the must was clear but in the mouth there was still a phenolic dryness; the must was not dirty but it wasn't elegant either. We needed to add nutrients to help the yeasts do their work. We then kept the fine lees and did a lot of batonnage. The wines today are very clean but not especially rich." De la Bourdonnaye describes the 2006s as fresh and tender wines from a warm year. "But these wines are much easier to drink than the 2005s," he added, "and the 2007s will probably have more aging potential." He was reluctant to show a couple of his young 2007s, as the crus had not yet been blended and some wines were about to get a passage in oak. "We use a bit of barrel at the end to enlarge the wines' aromatic palate," he explained. "We age our wines on their fine lees, and we're now giving them more oxygen before they're bottled, because we use screwcaps and we want to avoid reduction."

Winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye told me that he warned a number of his fellow growers in 2006 that the yeasts were working extremely efficiently, and that grapes picked with potential alcohol of 12.5% could easily end up over 13% without chaptalization. (In contrast, he said, the sugar fermentations were much more difficult in 2005.) He insisted that most Chablis estates brought in their fruit with grape sugars between 11.5% and 12%, with the exceptions a bit higher, and that the overwhelming majority of '06s that finished over 13% were due to chaptalization. In my travels, most of the domains I visited took issue with this assertion, telling me that grape sugars were often very high in '06, and that wines that finished at 13% were rarely chaptalized. Wherever the truth lies, the Laroche '06s are wines with compelling freshness and plenty of Chablis character. They have largely avoided the exotic, superripe side of the vintage. As acid levels in the grapes were low, Bourdonnaye generally blocked about 40% of the malolactic fermentations to preserve freshness (he began taking this approach in 2000, and only the 2004 since then went through full malo). "Two thousand six is a tender vintage, perhaps less complex than 2005 but with more typical Chablis character," Bourdonnaye summarizes. "I compare it to the 2002, with maybe less aging potential." (Remy Amerique, New York, NY) Previously recommended: 2005 Chablis (86), 2005 Chablis Saint-Martin (86+?), 2005 Chablis Les Vaudevey (88+?), 2005 Chablis Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes (89), 2005 Chablis Les Fourchaumes Vieilles Vignes (89+?), 2005 Chablis Les Blanchots (90+?), 2005 Chablis Les Clos (92+?). 2005 Chablis Reserve de l'Obedience (91+?).