2010 Chablis Les Pargues

Domaine Servin's 2011s show some of the vegetal, green elements that are typical of the vintage. Total acidity is down, yields are on the higher side, and quality in this vintage is uneven across the range. The 2010s are much more consistent. At Servin all of the premier crus are done in steel. The Vieilles Vignes and the Preuses see about 20% oak, while the Bouguerots and Clos are made entirely in oak. Most of the 2011s were in bottle at the time of my visit in late June 2012. The wines that had not been bottled were the Vieilles Vignes, Blanchots, Preuses, Bouguerots and Clos. All of the 2010s were in bottle, except for the Preuses.

This estate harvested on the late side in 2011 (September 5 to 15), bringing in fruit with potential alcohol in the 12.2% to 12.8% range, according to commercial director Marc Cameron. But the vegetative cycle was over by early September, he told me, adding that "many growers had no leaves left on their vines at the end." Servin ultimately made the full permitted yields except in a couple of their grand crus, for the first time since the generous 2004 harvest. Incidentally, cellar improvements here in recent years have enabled the estate to pump their wines more gently and less frequently then previously. I had a clear preference for the 2010s here, although a couple of the grand crus were clearly picked on the late side.

This estate started harvesting in 2010 on September 20, but picked slowly, according to Francois Servin. "The potential alcohol was there early," he told me, "but there were still a lot of high acidities. Some people picked too soon." Oidium arrived late in the season and started on the leaves, said Servin. "But because it generally did not reach the grapes quickly, it did not do much damage," he added. Servin was not the only proprietor to maintain that the rain that fell during the week of the 27th was not all bad. "Until the end of the first week of harvesting, there was very little juice in the grapes. But then the rain brought more juice and lowered acidity levels somewhat." Still, he considers the 2010s to be a bit more concentrated than the 2008s.