2012 Corton-Charlemagne Quintessence Grand Cru

According to enologist Eric Germain, the 2013s have been getting fresher with elevage. "They began with a lot of malic acidity but the pHs now are still on the low side," he told me at the end of May. Some of the malos had not yet finished at the time of my visit. The chardonnay harvest here began on September 25, and the team attacked the pinot noir four days later, eventually picking until October 8. Grape sugars were mostly in the 12.2% to 12.8% range and most of the "lesser" wines were chaptalized a half-degree. "But the grand crus that started at 12.8% will be bottled at only 13.1% or 13.2%," according to Germain, who added that several of the '13s finished with acidity levels close to five grams per liter. He stirred the lees just three or four times in all, preferring to roll the barrels "to keep the lees in reduction." Germain compared the best 2013 to the 2007s here but emphasized that today's wines are raised in less new oak than ever before: typically 15% for the premier crus for the first 12 months, at which point they go into older barrels.The 2012s here have turned out extremely well, but the 2013s may be even more exciting in the context of their trickier vintage.

Enologist Eric Germain views 2012 as "un grand millesime for reds and whites but not in quantity."Production here was down 50% for the white wines and 70% for the reds, with the May frost having been particularly destructive to vines in the lower parts of Chassagne-Montrachet."The cold weather during flowering was really the cause of the tiny crop," he went on, but the hail storm on August 1 caused further damage in Puligny-Montrachet, the grand crus and Saint-Aubin.(The June 30 storm was worse in Pommard, Volnay and Beaune, he added.) The harvest started early here, on September 15 for the Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet, and the fruit came in with healthy potential alcohol levels in the 12.5% to 13% range."There was very little juice in the grapes and the skins were tough and thick and clean," said Germain, adding that "the large quantity of lees in the barrels has nourished the wines."Germain says he's happy with the way the wines have been made here since 2005 and that he hasn't changed much since 2007."We picked a bit too late and too ripe in 2002 and 2005, and there was still too much new oak in 2005, but we haven't had any problems since then."Total sulfur levels at bottlling are also substantially lower today than they were just five or six years ago.I have included notes on several 2011s that were bottled in the week or two prior to my visit; the superb grand crus and a number of premier crus were yet to be bottled.Here are new projected scoring ranges for the 2011 grand crus based on my most recent tasting:Quintessence de Corton-Charlemagne (93-94), Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet (92-93), Batard-Montrachet (93-94), and Chevalier-Montrachet (94-95).