2005 Chablis Les Vaillons 1er Cru

After sharply upgrading the Chablis offerings of this large estate in three short vintages ('04, '05 and '06), winemaker Jean Didier-Basch left the wine business earlier this year after coming into an inheritance. It remains to be seen how Long-Depaquit, owned by the Bichot family, will cope, but for the moment they have replaced Didier-Basch with the team of vineyard manager Olivier Deboudt, chief winemaker Alain Serveau and new regisseur Matthieu Mangenot, who was scheduled to come on board in July. Bichot cellarmaster Philippe Seguin, who consults here, described the 2006s as "fine and delicate wines with less structure than '05, a bit higher in acidity but also higher in pH." The crop level in 2006 was actually lower than that of 2005-about 40 hectoliters per hectare in the grand crus-due in part to some coulure during flowering. As a rule, 15% to 25% of the grand crus are done in barrel, but just 2% to 4% new oak is used. Incidentally, Long-Depaquit pulled out its virused vines in Montee de Tonnerre after the 2004 vintage and replanted them earlier this year. (Numerous importers, including Atherton Wine Imports, Atherton, CA) Previously recommended: 2005 Chablis (88).

Winemaker Jean Didier-Basch is from the Auxerre area but actually spent many years as manager of Domaine Ott in the south of France before taking over here in 2004. He has quickly improved quality at this estate, owned by the Bichot family, to a level not seen in the past generation. Bichot owns 65 hectares of vines in Chablis, including 10 hectares of grand cru, which Alberic Bichot described as 10% of the total. The grand crus and the Vaillons at Long-Depaquit are harvested by hand. Vinification and elevage are flexible and depend on the vintage and the terroir. The grand crus here are aged in about 25% oak, generally only a fraction of which is new, and Didier-Basch does substantial lees stirring for the portion of wine raised in barrel. But in vintage 2004, the premier crus except for Montee de Tonnerre also received a percentage of oak aging-"for micro-oxidation," according to Bichot. The maturity in 2005 skyrocketed in the last five days before the harvest, Bichot added, and it became necessary to pick quickly to retain enough acidity "to keep the identity of Chablis." The wines that get some wood were taken out of barrel earlier than usual, in April, because they were taking up the wood quickly.