2012 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

Mounir Saouma described his very young 2013 whites as "like the '10s and '08s" but it was the 2012s he showed me at the beginning of June as the '13s were still in various stages of their primary and secondary fermentations.In fact, Saouma had only recently begun bottling his 2012s, a crop of wines that did not generally complete their malolactic (or alcoholic!) fermentations until after my cellar visit a year ago, and planned to finish the rest in August or September, without fining or filtration."With the long elevage, the wines have gained in profundity and personality," he told me, adding that he did not add any SO2 until the beginning of May, a month before my visit.As is often the case here, the 2012s finished with between 1.5 and 2.5 grams per liter of residual sugar, which only adds to their early sex appeal.But they hardly lack for supporting acidity and minerality.