2011 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru

Due to the tiny, concentrated berries in 2012, said winemaker Philippe Prost, Bouchard began picking both its chardonnay and pinot noir on September 17. "We didn't want to get overly ripe fruit," he told me. In fact, Prost described the chardonnay in the Maconnais as very low in acidity but noted that there was better acidity in the northern half of the Cote de Beaune, including distinctly more malic acidity in Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Corton-Charlemagne than in 2011. In Chassagne, though, the hailed-on parcels may have retained less acidity, due in part to lost foliage. Prost told me he cut the percentage of new oak in the 2012 Cote de Beaune whites; today he's more likely to season his new barrels by using them first for Bouchard's lesser wines. And Prost does not like extended drying of his barrels, as he feels that longer toasting of the wood catalyzes the tannins and can result in premature oxidation. Moreover, he added, a grande chauffe toast can yield heavy wines. We like our barrels dried for 24 to 28 months. That gives a slightly more green expression, which is good for the wines."

Winemaker Philippe Prost described his young 2011 whites as having "more varietal fruit and flash than the 2010s." With their low levels of malic acidity, the wines didn't change much during the malolactic fermentations. In fact, said Prost, the final acidity levels are in a fairly narrow range in the 2008 through 2011 vintages, even if the wines from these years do not show the same definition. Bouchard began picking 2011 pinot on August 29 and chardonnay on September 1. Prost noted that ambient temperatures were much warmer at harvest time in 2011 than they had been in 2010, so it was essential to pick in the early morning. He also pressed quickly to avoid getting a golden color in the wines. Prost noted that a lot of people picked their chardonnay too early for fear of getting rot. What they got instead was green fruit, he added.