An incredibly pure but also incredibly backward ultra high-toned ripe floral and white pear and peach nose nuanced by subtle spice and brioche notes complements perfectly the round, intense, delineated and stony flavors that are like drinking liquefied rock, all wrapped in a textured, palate staining, austere and almost painfully intense and chewy finish. This is a bit more reserved at present than the Valmur, which is interesting because normally it's the other way around. Either way, this has flat out great potential.

The 2005 Chablis Grand Cru Clos is riper and more sun-kissed in profile than the 2008 and 2002 vintages that bracketed it, offering up a rich bouquet of apples, iodine and pastry cream that's framed by notes of smoky reduction. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a textural attack, good depth and concentration, but without the lively, incisive acids and precise fruit tones that define the classic years. This is a powerful, brawny Les Clos but purists will want to gravitate toward the racier vintages. - William Kelley