2003 Chassagne-Montrachet Vide Bourse

The affable Morey describes his 2004s as "more like 2000 than 2002, less structured than 2002." Morey started harvesting his estate vines two or three days after the ban de vendange, and chaptalized most wines about a half a degree. Oidium was not a problem, he told me, as he treated the vines properly, beginning at the end of April and doing four treatments. Following early malos, all the wines had been racked and sulfited about a month before my visit. Morey told me that he did a second acidification of the 2003s after the malos "according to taste-if the wines were too moux." The 2003s were bottled in August of 2004. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY) Also tasted: Saint-Aubin Le Puits*.

Morey acidified the musts in 2003 and then made further adjustments, if needed, after the malos. He told me that his wines in Beaune had the highest pHs, as these vines suffered less from drought and produced very ripe grapes. But, in general, the heat-affected hillsides produced fruit with higher pHs, Morey added. Sites affected by frost were not necessarily better than the rest owing to lower yields. Still, it was the non-frosted top of the hill that suffered more from sun and heat in July and August, he added. Most of these 2003s will be for drinking young, before the wines' obvious alcohol dries out the fruit. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham AL Louis/Dressner Selections, New York NY