This was quite delicious with the chicken I roasted earlier.

Chablis Grand Cru Preuses 2000, Domaine William Fevre
A lovely nose of earthy complexity and plenty of nuttiness. There is some lovely lemon fruit there as well. I am quite surprised by the degree of maturity displayed on the nose; this smells very much up for drinking. There is real density and weight on the palate, but the great minerality and wonderful acidity keep this well-balanced. The fruit is quite delicious and the finish is very long and pleasing. I don't think there is much point in keeping this wine any longer, I am under the impression it has peaked and will not get any better. It is quite tasty, though.

It was a bottle of Louis Michel that first convinced me that Chablis can be great. His Grand Crus are entities of intensity. This is lovely bottle.

Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2005, Louis Michel
This has a very steely nose with plenty of nuttiness, it is really pure and focused. The minerality is really pleasing. The fruit on the nose is strangely peary, which is really quite attractive. No oak here, this is pure, unadulterated Chablis action, and very pleasing that is too. The palate is really light and refined, but not short of concentration. It has good lemony fruit and and excellent minerality to it. This is a totally refreshing, stylish little number that completely charms. It bursts with vivacity. The minerality shows strongly on the finish which is really quite long. This is providing really quite a lot of pleasure to drink now but it has the depth of character and balance to age into something even more beautiful. Louis Michel makes excellent wines (and this is certainly one of them) that don't cost the earth. Well worth looking out for.

This wine has had a lot of skin contact. Very different to the Fevre les Clos 05 I had in December.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2005, J-P & B Droin
This smells very fresh and green, but with a good depth of lemony fruit and a pleasing play-dough minerality. There is the merest hint of oakiness, but that is just fine. The palate has density, but is really very acidic. There is also more than a hint of astrigency there, which is a bit odd. There is more than a degree of confusion about the palate, the flavours don't quite seem to work terribly well together. It is not bad, but the Fevre was a lot better.

I've reported on this before, it is a real treat to have it again.

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 'Vignoble de Vaulorent' 2004, Domaine William Fevre
A lovely honeyed, nutty nose, this is really complex and quite beautiful. Lots of minerality, lots of fruit here. The nose is as clean as a whistle. This is really lovely. The palate has great acidity, but really lovely fruit and a great mineral complexity. It is very long. And stylish. This really is the cat's arse. Excellent stuff, only the 2005 is better.

I am just drinking another bottle of Chablis Grand Cru Bougros "Cote Bouguerots" 2000 from Fevre. I had this last in July. All I can really say to add to that note is how completely fantastic the wine is. It may be big and bold, but is also racy, elegant and exciting. It is perfectly mature and up for drinking now, not that it won't hang around. If you have any spare and don't know how to get rid of it do drop me an email. It is tits.

I have risen! At least, I have escaped from the bin. Cheers, cheers for being an articulate loony. We celebrate with Chablis.

Chablis Grand Cru Grenouille 2002, J-P et B Droin
It has some honey and nuts but is really sulphury. That puts me off a bit, but the palate is reasonably tasty. Nice acidity, good fruit, a touch of astrigency (which is quite nice, really), and good length. Reasonable weight and minerality to it. It is pretty good, and for lips that have been in the bin for a week that'll do nicely.

I haven't had a better string of Chablis than these last few Fevres in a period of time.

Chablis Grand Cru Bougros "Cote Bouguerots" 2000, Domaine William Fevre
This smells very much like flat Champagne, reasonably mature too, but these aromas are delicious. There is a real honey-ed character to it and some very ripe lemon fruit. It is very mineral, and quite confidently structured. On the palate, too. It has real size, but great minerality and areally nice acidity. Very long. Very complex. This is really stylish, too. Quite delicious.

I've had the 2005 of this wine twice, and each time thought it was the best Chablis I have ever tried. 2004 is a less ripe, more 'classic' vintage than 2005.

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume "Vignoble de Vaulorent" 2004, Domaine William Fevre
A very steely, mineral nose with a strong nutty character. It is very complex and stylish. There is plenty of lemony fruit there too. This smells like really top Chablis. The palate has quite un-nerving amounts of acidity, but there is so plenty of fruit and minerality to keep this from being a merely painful experience. Indeed, they combine to make the palate quite beautiful and refined. It is extremely long, and the complex flavours are a real delight. OK, the 2005 was just better, its extra ripeness, density and weight adding dimension to the wine, but as far as top-grade Chablis goes you cannot go wrong with this. Lovely (and serious) as it is now it'll age and improve for at least five years or so. I didn't get to drink things like this in the bin, ah it is good to be out.

... And it is really serious. Hooray! This is made from a plot of vines by the Grand Cru les Preuses.

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume "Vignoble de Vaulorent" 2005, Domaine William Fevre
Wow, the nose of this is simply beautiful: elderflower, freshly-squeezed ripe lemon juice and an utterly wonderful nutty, creamy minerality. There is a real concentration of aromas here. The palate is not short of beauty, either. It has a floral fruitiness, the concentration of a serious Grand Cru, perfectly balanced acidity and one arse of a long, mineral finish. For all the power and density of flavours this remains supremely elegant and extremely refined. I cannot remember having better Chablis than this.

The Deiss was so disappointing we couldn't bring ourselves to finish the bottle. Hence we needed to drink something better.

Chablis Grand Cru Bougros "Côte Bouguerots" 2002, Fèvre
A lovely, stony nose that has plenty of ripe lemon fruit. There is a touch of play-dough character that is surprisingly attractive. This smells very complex and really quite stylish. As it is it warming up it is developing a lovely floral aroma with hints of honey and nuts. The palate has some real density, but remains light and elegant thanks to some brilliant acidity and a really good mineral character. Even though this is bone dry there is a richness to the palate thanks to its ripe fruit and creamy minerality. Unlike the Deiss this has real length and good complexity. With the fruit, acidity and minerality this is an exciting, nervy wine that is drinking very well now. Quite excellent Chablis.

Vincent Dauvissat is widely considered to be one of the best producers of Chablis. He is one of the people who ferment their wines in old oak barrels. Perhaps I am being over-enthusiastic opening this wine at a mere two years old, but it is a sunny day and I fancy a glass of something refreshing.

Chablis Premier Cru le Forest 2004, Vincent Dauvissat
There is a noticeable vanilla-y oak character on the nose. It has a lot of ripe-lemon fruit and hints of creamy minerality. The palate is very linear, with good acidity and lemon fruit. Even though this is a very direct wine it has a degree of weight. The finish is very long, with lemon fruit and minerality persisting for a long time. Perhaps this is too young to drink, I imagine that it would gain a bit of fat given time in the cellar, but it does make a great drink on a sunny day.

I've only had one other 2004 Chablis and that seemed to be similar in that it was very linear with marked acidity. It strikes me that this is a more 'classic' vintage than, say, 2002 or 2000. If I were a good customer of Chablis I think these would be the kind of wines I would stick in the cellar until they were five or so years old.

A damned good bottle of Chablis, this. He machine harvests, so we are told.

Chablis Grand Cru Grenouille 2002, Jean-Paul and Benoît Droin
A very powerful, concentrated nose of flinty minerals and lemony fruit. It smells quite big. It is quite weighty on the palate too. Lots of concentration. There is great acidity running through it, and a good mineral tang. This is excellent Chablis, best I've had in a while.

I tried this wine at my first Decanter magazine panel tasting years ago. I remember it being very good, but hellishly oaky.

Chablis Grand Cru les Preuses 1996, William Fevre
Nutty, honeyed nose, plenty of fruit, round and mature. It has a good creamy minerality to it. There is a bit of woody vanilla, but not as much as I recall from years ago. It has integrated nicely. The palate has quite high acidity, but plenty of fruit and reasonable length. It is dense and weighty, but kept lively by the minerality and acidity. It is really quite good and one of the best 1996 Burgundy/Chablis wines I have had. Still in very good condition the day after I popped it.

2000 was a great vintage for Chablis, ripe and round but with plenty of good acidity. Fèvre were purchased a few years before and made an incredible turn around from producing over-oaked acid-juice to lovely wines of balance and style. I was quite looking forward to popping this bottle.

Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2000, William Fèvre
The nose of this shows a pleasing degree of development, it has some honeyed fat along with nuttiness and lemon fruit. The nose is very mineral. With the good lemon fruit one can almost smell the acidity, but it shows a degree of fat on the nose. The palate is linear and direct; good lemony fruit with a steely mineral/acid finish. There is some breadth, which becomes more apparent as the wine breathes. The palate does show a bit of maturity, this is drinking extremely well now. It leans toward fun, but when it comes down to it it is a wine themed on 'rigour'. One has to work for one's pleasure, but there is a lot of pleasure to be had. I don't mind thinking about something to enjoy it, and neither should you.

Based on this, I am sorely tempted to lay into my remaining 2000 Chablis with a grin on my face (and a bottle of Gaviscon on the table).