Almost exactly a year ago I chose to write a few words about a bottle of Chablis that had been received as a gift. I had forgotten this until I looked back at my archive to check how many times before I had selected a Chablis. Once, it would seem. On this occasion I had already decided to justify my selection with the claim that C is for Chardonnay, rather than Chablis but as you know one is a grape and the other is a village where it is grown, so both work. Is it wrong of me to hope there may be a pattern emerging as this week's bottle was also generously provided as a Christmas gift? Either way, it is:
For those who are interested in such things you may be aware that the classification system for Chablis follows the structure applied nationally in France, as you would expect. That is, the regulations for labelling starting at the lower quality levels allow the fruit used in a wine to have been grown in a wide area. The 'Vin de France' designation simply requires the grapes to have grown on French soil. However, as the labelling becomes more specific the regulations become more demanding (or vice versa, perhaps). The next tier, IGP (indication géographique protégée) requires fruit from a specific region, Bordeaux would be an example, and the third, AOP (Appellation d'origine protégée) can get very specific indeed.
To be labelled 'Chablis' a wine must have been made with grapes grown within the boundaries of a defined area around the eponymous village. But not all Chablis is simply 'Chablis' as there are tighter restrictions still that allow some wines to use 'Premier Cru' and at the top of the tree 'Grand Cru' labels. These indicate that the grapes come not only from Chablis, but from specific vineyards. There are 40 that qualify as Premier Cru vineyards and only seven that can claim Grand Cru status.
This week's wine is labelled as Chablis but it also tells us that the grapes came from a single vineyard called 'Les Pargues'. This vineyard can be found sitting between two neighbours, Vaillons and Montmains, both of which have Premier Cru designations and with whom it shares much in the way of soil, slope, orientation and the other characteristics that grant them their status. In fact, Les Pargues itself was previously accepted as a Premier Cru vineyard and only lost its accreditation after it had been abandoned during the Great War. The Servin family, who have been making wine in this northern part of Burgundy since 1654, started to restore Les Pargues in 1950 and claim the wine they produce from it is once again worthy of recognition as coming from a better site.
Laithwaites appear to be the biggest (only?) UK distributor of Servin Les Pargue Chablis and customer reviews on their website for this wine vary widely. So, what do I think?
It has an attractive, mid-yellow colour with some green tones, smells of ripe red apples and tastes of the same with warmer, stone fruit flavours. It is rich and smooth and not at all tart. It has an enjoyable lengthy finish of peach.
Each to his own, they say, and to paraphrase Lord Flasheart, I am happy that some don't like this as it leaves all the more for us real men (and women, of course).
Buy again? I would, especially when I have drunk the rest of the Chablis I have recently hidden in the cupboard above the freezer.
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