2004 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru

The ripeness in 2005 was already rushing ahead by mid-August, said Vincent Dauvissat, when some rain on the 15th created the conditions for the beginnings of rot. But good weather in September brought mostly noble rot, and acids stayed sound while sugars continued to rise. Still, Dauvissat added, "it was really too warm during the harvest. The wines were heavy and honeyed at the beginning, but they're tasting better now. Still, the '05s are not like the '02s: there's too much noble rot and surmaturite in 2005."Interestingly, Dauvissat was in no hurry to start the 2006 harvest when I visited him in mid-September-in contrast to some of his colleagues who had already started. "We have potential alcohol and sound acids now but the third dimension is not there yet," he told me. "We still need a bit more physiological maturity; the vines need to complete their vegetative cycle." (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; the Dauvissat-Camus label is imported by Classic Wine Imports, West Roxbury, MA)

.Vincent Dauvissat compares 2004 to vintage 2000.The crop level was high in 2004, and acid levels, according to Dauvissat, are quite healthy in the post-malolactic wines.He harvested beginning on October 1 with grape sugars that ranged from 11.8% to 13.2%, and did just a bit of chaptalization-on the order of half a degree-for the lesser wines. Dauvissat told me that the typical 2.8 grams per liter acidity in his 2003s is the lowest ever at this estate.Still, the rain that fell on September 27 stimulated the vines, bringing a rise in acid levels and also enabling him to harvest fruit with natural alcohol between 12.5% and 13.5%.He acidified his earliest two cuvees, then stopped.Incidentally, Dauvissat continues to make extensive use of the traditional 132-liter feuillettes to age his premier crus (but not his grand crus).Historically, he told me, certain terroirs were always felt to need a lot of controlled oxidation in barrel after the alcoholic fermentation.And in the old days, these smaller containers made it easier to ship a barrel to Paris to be bottled.(Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; the Dauvissat-Camus label is imported by Classic Wine Imports, Brookline, MA)