2015 Domaine William Fevre, Chablis Grand Cru, Les Clos

Pale, green-tinged yellow. Captivating but youthfully reticent scents and flavors of citrus peel, white pepper, fresh herbs, crushed stone and white flowers, plus a whiff of rhubarb. Quite broad and full but not at all heavy in the mouth. This wine doesn't have the acid edge of the Bougros Côte Bouguerots but is wonderfully silky and horizontal, coating every square millimeter of the palate--and it's hardly short of energy! Most impressive today on the superb dusty, mounting finish. This potentially outstanding wine still needs time to gain in complexity but it should evolve positively in bottle for many years. Production here was cut by the pre-harvest hailstorm, but if this fruit was picked earlier than originally forecasted, it does not seem to have suffered for it.

The 2015 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a rather obvious peachy bouquet with overt tropical notes that feel monotone; it does not really translate the terroir . The soft, supple palate is rounded in the mouth, presenting orange pith, nectarine, a touch of white pepper and light stem ginger flavors toward the elegant if not overly complex finish. This does not quite possess the tension it showed a few months ago. Tasted at the annual Burgfest tasting.

Musky, sweaty aroma on the nose, and candied fruit – quite different from their other grands crus, and not for the better. There’s a musty strangeness to this which doesn’t taste right. (RH)