Chablis la Forest, René et Vincent Dauvissat 2011

A beautifully layered nose features notes of ripe citrus, sea breeze, dried flowers, quinine and mineral reduction. The punchy medium-bodied flavors are built on a base of minerality that adds lift to the tension-filled finish that coats the mouth with acid buffering dry extract. This is not especially refined but it really fans out on the wonderfully long finale and should reward 7 to 10 years of bottle age.

A brothy sense of richness to Vincent Dauvissat's 2011 Chablis La Forest evokes stock of chicken, clams and mussels, something that would count as utterly anomalous in wine from any other wine region. Chalk segues into white pepper, which, along with a bitter edge of dried herbs, makes for invigorating tactile impingement, even though there is an underlying hint of creaminess to the palpably lees-enriched mid-palate. Similarly, a light lemon freshness complements the richness of this peppery, pungent chowder of Chablis. The finish here milks my salivary glands for all that they are worth. Look for this remarkable libation to perform with versatility and compelling complexity through at least 2020.

A beautifully layered nose features notes of ripe citrus, sea breeze, dried flowers and mineral reduction. The caressing flavors possess a highly sophisticated mouth feel built on a base of minerality that adds lift to the tension-filled finish that coats the mouth with acid buffering dry extract. This really fans out on the finale and should reward 6 to 8 years of bottle age.