The Pinson 2008 Chablis Fourchaume comes from a parcel in Vaulorent to which he recently acquired access, and I continue to question why growers would for the sake of mere name recognition label a wine from that superb site with the better-known “Fourchaume” that is anything but an advertisement of routinely top-quality. Musky narcissus and shrimp shell on the nose lead into a saliva-inducing palate whose saline, secretly sweet, shellfish reduction-like mineral cast perfectly complements its ripe peach and citrus. Suggestions of salted grapefruit rind and iodine add additional pungency to the long finish of this substantial yet refreshing cru that ought to prove worth following for 6-8 years. Laurent Pinson’s 2008 collection seemed to benefit greatly from the inherent brightness and exuberance of the vintage, in that the awkwardness of oak was less-often evident to me than it had been in either of his immediately preceding collections. Only this year’s Mont de Milieu crossed into 13% alcohol territory, although as the Pinsons reminded me, their 2007s were as a group even a bit lower in alcohol.Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644 and also a Charles Neal Selection, Richmond, CA; tel (415) 225-5144 (with various importers)