It is tough to follow on from a ‘vintage of the century’ such as 2005. Some have ignored the qualities of the follow-on vintage because of the long shadow cast by its predecessor while others have reacted against the hype for ’05 by expressing a preference for ’06. This can only be based on the relative accessibility of the younger vintage.

Chablis 2006 First Impressions
The very first ideas were that this would be a very good white wine vintage. The Chablis wines were luscious and heady. Yet by the time of the UK Primeur tastings in January 2008, this view was already changing. Some of the whites seemed heavy rather than heady.

Chablis 2006 - The Wines in the Bottle
It is a sound vintage from Chablis without quite the excitement of the best from ’05 or ’07. The Côte de Beaune whites which were picked early on are showing much better than those harvested later in the piece. 2006 Chablis will be appreciated much more by those who like weight and richness than by the seekers of minerality.

Read a detailed report for the white wines in the 2006 vintage in Côte de Beaune.