Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 92 points

Comprising fruit from Les Forets, Bouts des Butteaux, and true Montmains, the Fevre 2007 Chablis Montmains (raised in a 60:40 ratio of tank to barrel) highlights peach, orange, kelp, and oyster shell. Its oiliness of texture reinforces the impression of richness, while a prominent salinity among its diverse mineral shadings lends lip-smacking invigoration to a sustained, bright, austerely dry finish. This offers an uncanny sense of liquefied stone and shells such as one scarcely ever encounters outside of the Auxerre. As Seguier explains it, the high-elevation and clay-rich Marnes soil of Butteaux – which makes up nearly half of this cuvee – promotes pronounced acidity, extract, and above all overt mineral characteristics. But these soils, especially at this altitude, are much slower to warm, so control of yields and later harvest are critical. This beauty should merit at least 6-8 years of attention. A non-estate Montmains, not sold in the U.S., shared some of this wine’s mineral character but was broader and far less concentrated or focused.

Review date: December 2009