2006 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles

"Our philosophy is to pick chardonnay early," emphasized winemaker Philippe Prost. "This strategy enabled us to save the freshness in 2003 and 2000, and it also allowed us to avoid rot in 2006." Prost described 2006 as "a grower's vintage" in which the Bouchard team did a lot of leaf-pulling in mid-July, which helped to aerate the grapes. Alcohol levels in 2006 were in the high 13.7% to 13.9% range for most of the premier crus, noted Prost, with Meursault a bit higher; the Puligny acids were generally 4.1 to 4.2 grams per liter (or a bit higher than those of 2005), compared to 3.7 or 3.8 for Meursault. Incidentally, Prost is a big fan of 2005. "The wines don't necessarily have great concentration but they have higher dry extract than 2004 or 2002," he explained. This vintage generally brought lower yields in Meursault and Puligny than did 2006 due to low cluster weights, Prost added. (Henriot, Inc., New York, NY) Also recommended: Puligny-Montrachet (85).