2011 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

It's always the same at Coche-Dury. Appointments are at 6:15 or 6:30 in the evening, after the work in the vineyards - the priority here - is taken care of. In a world that is increasingly hectic and fast-paced, it's nice to see some things never change. Jean-Francois Coche calls his 2011 whites better than the 2010s, but not as pleasing as the 2009s. It is still early days, and I for one love the 2010s, but we will see. While Coche-Dury receives so much acclaim for their whites, I have often been impressed by the reds as well. I tasted all of the 2011 whites from barrel last November, with the exception of the Corton-Charlemagne, which Coche did not feel was ready to show given the protracted malos.

The June 30 hail was the most destructive storm here in 2012, resulting in crop losses of up to 60% in the family's holdings in Meursault Vireuils, Chevaliere and Rougeot, said Raphael Coche.Then on August 1, more hail cut the crop on the plain by 10%, with losses closer to 25% on the south side of Meursault (pinot noir yields in Volnay and Monthelie were off by 80%, according to Coche).Conditions then turned windy after the August 1 hail, and the affected grapes fell off the vines, an occurrence Coche described as quite rare.Coche Junior and Senior then harvested early, beginning on Sunday, September 16th.Rafael told me he prefers the whites to the reds in 2012:he finds the pinots a bit hard and lacking in finesse.By the way, the Coches will get an additional parcel of Corton-Charlemagne this year and will soon be able to double their production of this grand cru.Note that the labels here were updated as of the 2010s, except for the Corton-Charlemagne.Only a few of the 2012s were close to the end of their malos at the time of my visit, so I have published early notes on only a few of the more advanced cuvees.