Droin’s 2007 Chablis Cote de Lechet – like his Vaucoupin, an exception to the estate norm in being raised totally in tank – is even more uncompromisingly dominated by bright citrus and the bitterness of its zest than was the cru bottling. What’s more, undertones of crushed stone and fruit pit run like a steady snare drum roll underneath this sparely-scored composition. No doubt some tasters will perceive this wine’s personality as a reason for putting Droin’s wines in barrel, but a place is welcome for such straight, penetrating, dense, and invigorating Chablis, at least on my dinner table, and I don’t doubt it will preserve its virtues for 4-5 years. In striking contrast with the experience of most of his colleagues, Benoit Droin’s 2007s were very slow to begin – much less complete – their malolactic transformations. Droin believes in the potential of machine harvesting in a majority of his vineyards, even in a year with hail, and the bottled results once again point up the foolishness of glib generalizations such as abound on that particular subject. That said, the potential weak spot in some of his 2007s – perhaps due to much-reduced yields, perhaps to hail per se, and a feature to which some tasters will certainly be more sensitive than others – is their tendency toward bitterness. These wines weighed-in in the low 13s natural alcohol, a bit higher than the vintage norm.Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565