2012 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru

"The weather was lousy in 2013," said Gerard Boudot on the first morning of my white Burgundy tour at the end of May. "There was plenty of mildew but we were not affected by hail." He began harvesting on September 29, picking over the next eight and a half days, with potential alcohol levels ranging from about 12% for the village wines to 12.8% for the crus (the Combettes and Champs-Canet were near 13%). Boudot reported that he had fairly consistent ripeness, and that he eliminated some rotten and underripe grapes at harvest-time. He told me he hasn't done any lees stirring "yet," except for one time in December, explaining that with organic farming batonnage has not been necessary in recent years as the fruit has better balance. He has also been using less and less new oak, experimenting with some 20- and 25-hectoliter foudres for some vinifications. "I once bought 100 to 110 new barrels a year, but now I'm down to 40 for the same volume of wine," said Boudot. All of the wines noted below were still in barrel at the end of May. Boudot describes 2013 as "a fleshier version of 2011, with similar acidity and pH levels, and a very typical terroir year." He added: "I love the quick drinkability and salinity of the 2013s compared to the 2012s, which need a bit of time."

As a rule, the middle strip of the hillsides was favored in 2012, said Gerard Boudot, while the ripeness of the higher parcels tended to be more affected by hail stress. "The wines from the high slopes are less easy to taste today," he added. Crop levels for certain wines were infinitesimal. For example, Boudot made just 100 liters of wine from his vines in Hameau de Blagny ("this was the epicenter of the August 1 hail") and this juice went into his village Puligny. Based on my side-by-side tasting of 2012 and 2011 chez Boudot, this estate had great success in 2011. Alcohol levels in '11 were about 0.3% lower across the board than in 2010 but with similar phenolic maturity, Boudot explained, adding that the combination of ripe grapes and low pHs was very rare. He did not chaptalize his 2011. "This is a vintage to enjoy at all stages of its evolution--and certainly to start drinking before the 2010s," noted Boudot.