WSET Chablis masterclass

So my Chablis espionage trip to the WSET was a success, it was sponsored by Chablis itself hence the £25 price tag. Quite a nice tasting room, Gareth Morgan did a decent job at presenting, quite quick and informative for the real wine geeks with plenty of slides. So.....les vins....

Petit Chablis de Camu 09 £10 - Light pretty decent, honey, bit of grass. Worth checking out but I have preferred La Chablisienne or Vocoret Petit Chablis in the past.

Chablis Domaine Droin 09 £14 (uncorked) - Loads of oak and I really enjoyed, sweet nuts mixed with Riesling-like lime pith. Many thought the oak was (weird) but I thought it added length and concentration albeit in a TOWIE chav vajazzel shuuut up kinda way (check reference if unsure).

Chablis Domaine Jean Durup 09 £17 (Beaconsfield Wine Cellars) - Nice, classic and concentrated. Didn't live up to the price tag.

Chablis Domaine Vocoret P cru Montmains 09 £14 (Majestic/Auchan in Macon) - Very good, classic, delineated, mineral-led length. Enjoyed a lot.

Chablis N et G Fevre P cru Mont de Milieu 09 £16 (Folly Cottage Wines) - The most concentrated in the mid-palate but slipped off quite quick. A high glycerol level and so some of the sharp acid was masked. Shame. Decent but a bit milky for the Chablis purists out there.

Chablis Domaine Brocard (magnum) 06 P Cru Butteaux (a climat in Montmains) (Henley Vintners £18 -. presume for 75cl) - Everyone loved it -everyone but myself and a young French chappie next to me. It was too old. It had toffee caramel on the nose, with pear and red blousey apples on the palate. It wasn't serious enough to age with no oak/little and did not have the acidity to carry off the flavours, again malolactic-tastic and creamy.Think cream without the fat - yes. No evil grin for this wine. Had a debate with the room about it being washed out, they were arguing it was integrated.

Chablis Grand cru Grenouilles La Chablisienne 07 (Fine and Rare) £48 - It was bright and quite acidic which I enjoyed. Incredible concentration and classic and clean, apparently La Chab own the majority of this GC and are forming a new climat on the lower slope next to le Clos around Chateau Grenouilles.
It was long, concentrated, complex yet subtle but in a very classic way, lemon, lime and that unidentifiable thing that Chablis has - a mix between grass and an almost medicinal Semillon/Rousanne quality. Loved it -althought the room agreed that price compared to PC's and some Chablis' did not make this good value, but compared to GC white burg it wasn't bad. Ma and Pa, please try when at the winery on your way up after Xmas.

Chablis Grand cru Blanchot Domaine Laroche 07 (slurp.co.uk) £54 - In a word- No. The wine was good in general terms but not GC quality. From the Southerly facing GC so not the best aspect, just hanging on in my opinion. Not overly concentrated with some lemon, pea and asparagus if you like that sort of over-cropped Sauvignon funk. How many times has this producer been wishy washy? Ma and Pa.....this is the producer that used to be in the boiled trolley at ATAC under the sign "les vins marinade". Says it all really.

Best buys

Chablis Domaine Droin 09 £14 (uncorked)

Chablis Domaine Vocoret P cru Montmains 09 £14 (Majestic/Auchan in Macon)

Chablis Grand cru Grenouilles La Chablisienne 07 (Fine and Rare) £48 (would love to try 08)

So Chablis this xmas?? Any thoughts on the supermarket versions?