2005 Chablis Les Preuses
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Tasting notes
Tasted at the estate, Vincent Dauvissat’s 2005 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses has aged superbly and is now drinking with great generosity, opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of beeswax, dried white flowers, iodine and almond paste with only a subtle mark of botrytis. Structured around chalky extract that brings freshness to this relatively warm vintage and laden with bright acidity, it concludes with a long, saline, slightly perfumed finish. It’s not the most incisive Les Preuses, but it displays the controlled generosity and strength of Dauvissat in the warm years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Good pale yellow. Knockout nose combines peche de vigne and gingery spices, plus the same violety high note I found in the 2006. Rich, broad and tactile, with terrific energy and intensity to the slightly exotic flavors of orange, lemon peel, flowers and licorice. As silky as this is, it conveys an outstanding lightness of touch. Best today on the explosive, rocky, palate-staining finish, which offers a real whiplash of iodine, warm stone and citrus peel flavors. This vineyard was the least affected by botrytis in 2005, according to Dauvissat; the wine is the lowest in alcohol, but still a full 13.5%.
Pale color. Reticent but fine nose melds crushed rock, white pepper and spices, with a violet topnote that reminded me of fleur de sel from the Camargue. Suave and subtle but penetrating, offering a crystalline purity of citrus and mineral flavors and superb understated intensity. This really spreads over the palate and builds toward the back. A wonderfully elegant and very slowly evolving grand cru that will require seven or eight years of aging to reach its full potential.