2013 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Jean-Pierre Cournut picked from September 30 through October 7 in 2013, with potential alcohol levels ranging from 11.4% to 12.8%, but he expressed the opinion that his best wines are from vineyards harvested on the first two days. The 2013s were initially fragile, he told me, "but they're getting good now as the terroir speaks." He considers the '13s to be "very representative of Burgundy," and perhaps more marked by terroir than the very fresh, higher-acid 2010s. Cournut admitted that he likes drinking white Burgundies on the young side. He's enjoying the 2010s today, but feels that the 2012s and most 2011s are closing down now. Cournut told me he has stopped stirring the lees since 2009 and that he's much more precise nowadays when it comes to adding SO2, doing more frequent additions of smaller doses. (I was only able to see a few of the 2012s as Cournut told me that a number of these wines were already sold out.) (Domaines & Saveurs/Jeanne-Marie de Champs; importers include The Wine House Limited, www.winesf.com and Frederick Wildman & Sons, www.frederickwildman.com)