A mildly exotic nose features ripe yellow orchard fruit and lychee nut aromas that slide gracefully into full-bodied and admirably rich flavors that possess a textured mouth feel and a powerful delineated and strikingly long finish. A classic example of the vineyard that is stunningly good.

The 2009 Chablis Mont de Milieu is a soft caressing wine laced with white peaches pears and flowers. Minerality takes a back seat in this pretty delicate Chablis. The aromas and flavors build nicely on the supple feminine finish. The Mont de Milieu saw 25% oak. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. This is an exciting set of wines from Benoit Droin one of the generation of rising stars in Chablis. The estate farms nine hectares of vineyards. Benoit Droin told me his choice of when to start picking in 2009 was deeply influenced by 2006 a year in which he felt he waited too long. The 2009s were brought in beginning in early September. The wines were fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in steel and/or barrel depending on the specific wine as noted above. The 2010s which I tasted from tank in their final blends were among the highlights of my trip to Chablis. The 2010 harvest began on September 20th. Yields were down 30% on average. I also tasted a few older bottles including the 2002 Valmur and 2004 Vaudesir both of which were in great shape. -AG