2005 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Jean-Pierre Cournut made painfully little wine in 2005, as he carried out a green harvest in his vines just before the July 17 hailstorm that sharply reduced the crop from the middle of the village west.None of the 2005 whites required chaptalizing, he told me.These were tricky wines to assess at the beginning of June, as they were in various stages of their elevage; three cuvees were still fermenting their sugar.Cournut believes that the wines will be completely transformed by racking and sulfiting.They have a tendency toward volatility now, he explained, and the racking and sulfiting should freshen them.Fining them with casein should further revivify the wines and give them a greener color, he added.Incidentally, Cournut's 2004s are stellar.(Domaines et Saveurs/Jeanne-Marie de Champs; importers include Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; The Wine House, San Francisco, CA; Cavattapi Distribuzione, Seattle, WA; Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; and The Country Vintner, Oilville, VA)