WTN: 2 summer whites (Brocard and Babich)

With lemon chicken, potatoes, and zucchini, the 2004 JM Brocard "Domaine Ste. Claire" Chablis AC. Good acidity, some lemon notes over a mineral base. Classic style for a regional Chablis, but could use a bit more concentration. B

Also tried the Chablis the following night with a recipe of panko-scallion crusted cod from Ming Tsai. The dish totally overwhelmed the Chablis, so we switched to a SB (what Ming suggested). 2005 Babich Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough). Nicely fruity, with grapefruit and gooseberry, a hint of grass. Fruit's balanced by zippy acidity. There's also a mild jalapeno note on the finish. Much better match with the dish. I stopped buying Babich for a vintage or two, seems they're back on track. Nice QPR and nice screwcap. B+/B

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.  

[James Roscoe]

What did the Babich cost locally? If it's a good QPR should it be widely available? It sounds familiar, but I'm not sure I've seen this producer before.

[David M. Bueker]

What kind of closure was on the Brocard. I had some of the 2002, but the cork quality was so bad that they died a quick death.

What kind of closure was on the Brocard. I had some of the 2002, but the cork quality was so bad that they died a quick death.

I thought Brocard only has screwcaps? At least all the ones imported here do...

Nice notes Dale. I've usually rather enjoyed Brocard's Chabliss (looks funny when you try to put it in the plural, no?) but have never found them really memorable. Well made and true to style though. And gladly not overtly oaky as so many these days are. When is that trend going to go away in Chablis?

Babich was $9.xx
Brocard was natural cork I believe. I tend to like Chablis young (with a few exceptions such as R & V Dauvvisat and Louis Michel), I've never had a problem with cork failure in the short period I've held Brocards. I don't think Brocard is in the absolute top tier of Chablis, but I tend to like Brocard for 2 reasons:
1) clean unoaked style
2) cheap (I can usually get the Vaillons and Montmains 1ers for well under $20)
I actually like the very cheap Brocard Bourgogne "Kimmeridgien" a lot too (at least in past-haven't seen lately).
I wouldn't say the 2004 Domaine Ste Claire is something I'd go looking for, but it might be a good option on a pedestrian wine list.
If you want serious unoaked Chablis Louis Michel is a big step up, but I can't afford it as regularly,.

I had an 02 Brocard Vaucoupin the other night that was really fantastic -- I'm a Brocard fan too for the reasons you mention, but this one was unusually complex and we hit it on a good night.

Thanks for the notes --

cheers

Patchen

I tend to like Chablis young (with a few exceptions such as R & V Dauvvisat and Louis Michel), I've never had a problem with cork failure in the short period I've held Brocards.

I assume that your preference for young Chablis is limited to village-level and 1ers, or do you also like your GC's young? (Or, another possibility, you don't buy GC Chablis). FWIW, I can agree with you up to the point of GC, but there I want 5+ years in a good year to let it come together.

Mark Lipton