2001 Chablis Les Pargues

This domain makes all its wines from its 30 hectares of vines, the majority of which are 30 to 40 years of age. In contrast to some of his colleagues in Chablis, Francois Servin describes the 2002 vintage as having yielded wines with "lowish alcohol and lowish acidity, not a bad combination. The grape skins were thick, and the grapes did not yield a lot of juice. According to Servin, "the wines are nicely balanced and are opening early. They're a touch more typical than the 2000s: they're drier, fresher and more minerally. Too many 2000s were picked too late; and it was certainly necessary again to harvest early in 2002." Like numerous other Chablis domains at which winemaking techniques are evolving, Servin uses different combinations of cuve and barriques depending on the needs of each cru. For example, he says, the Preuses and Blanchot are more delicate and do not like oak (even though prior to 2002 the latter wine was done in small barrels). The 2002s had been racked and fined just before my visit.