2008 Chablis Reserve de l'Obedience

Peach and mirabelle in the nose of the Laroche 2008 Chablis Blanchots Reserve de l’Obedience point toward an unusual degree of ripeness in fruit flavor for its vintage. Hints of lanolin, resin, and vanillin from the portion typical for this cuvee reflect its component of new wood. Lemon and orange oil, fruit pits and vanilla make for a bittersweet overall impression on a silken-textured, expansive, substantial palate. Salty notes offer some semblance of a mineral dimension to this, granted, formidable wine, but I detect – and attribute to the effect of the oak – just a bit of drying in the finish. I confess to not understanding why Laroche chooses to vinify precisely their best portions of Blanchots in this manner. The argument offered includes the claim that this cuvee is for long aging, but until I have chance to taste some examples from the mid or late 1990s I remain skeptical The Languedoc negociant and multiple estate-owner Jean Jean has bought-out Michel Laroche’s domaine, but for now at least, Laroche and winemaker Denis de la Bourdonnaye remain, and the quality and style of their 2008s is entirely consistent with that of other recent vintages. Incidentally, Laroche – a pioneer in France with utilizing screwcap closures – has switched to a saranex liner that de la Bourdonnaye says is designed to and does mitigate tendencies toward reduction that he and his team (and occasionally I) have noted in some past cuvees. Given the Sauvignon-like aspects of many of the 2008s here, I had wondered (prior to learning of this closure change) about continued hints of reduction in a couple of instances here as well. The lees were stirred actively to promote textural richness, which indeed most of these wines impressively exhibit, and there was some light chaptalization of musts that for the most part came in closer to 12% than to 13% potential alcohol. Importer: Canon Wines, Ltd., San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 394-6454