($65, Louis Latour USA): Simonnet-Febvre is one of the top producers in Chablis.  They eschew oak aging preferring to focus on the bracing minerality unique to the Chablis region, which gives their wines a lean, racy edginess.  The 2012 vintage was especially well suited to their style because it delivered fully ripe grapes with slightly lower apparent acidity, which meant that some producers’ wines lacked the usual verve of Chablis.  Verve is never lacking at Simonnet-Febvre.  Their Grand Cru Preuses in 2012 combines the steely minerality of Chablis with unusual depth and persistence.  Vibrant and alive, it expands in the mouth with an almost endless finish.  It’s incredibly mouth-filling though never heavy.  It shows the grandeur of Grand Cru Chablis and would be a terrific match with swordfish with a caper butter sauce.
96 Michael Apstein Apr 1, 2014