2007 Corton-Charlemagne Quintessence Grand Cru

The grapes ripened in the last three weeks of the 2008 growing season, said Vincent Girardin, who started picking on September 24 and had potential alcohols in the lofty 13.3% range. In 2008 he crushed the grapes (previously he fermented with whole clusters), and he began with a higher percentage of solids in the barrel: five liters, compared to two previously. In 2008, he did a total of just three batonnages, "to give the wines more force." Back when he pressed whole clusters, "the juice was primary but fragile. The vendange entier method is good for wines that are consumed young." Girardin says that the 2007s remind him of the 2004s, but noted that as recently as '04 he aged his grand crus entirely in new barrels. Nowadays it's more like 25% for the premier crus and 30% for the grand crus. I have limited my notes on 2008s to wines that had finished-or nearly completed-their malos by the time of my visit. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)