2006 Beaune Teurons 1er Cru

In the unusually advanced growing season of 2007, Geoffrey Choppin de Janvry did not harvest especially early. He waited until September 6, picking "for fruit and for phenolic maturity." Grape sugars ranged as high as 13%, with no chaptalization required, and acidity was on the low side, he told me. The fruit was concentrated and there was little rot, but Choppin de Janvry still doesn't think that 2007 has the structure to make a real vin de garde. He carried out a fairly gentle extraction, doing just seven to ten punchdowns of the cap during the early days of the fermentation. But these fat, sweet wines will offer considerable early appeal. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.) Also recommended: Savigny-les-Beaune La Batailliere (85).

This estate harvested on the late side in 2006, beginning on September 25 and essentially finishing in four days flat, bringing in fruit with what winemaker Geoffrey Choppin de Janvry described as good phenolic maturity. Rotten grapes were eliminated in the vines and then again on the estate's sorting table, leaving about 35 hectoliters per hectare. Potential alcohol levels were between 12.8% and 13.3% and only light chaptalization was done. Choppin de Janvry moved the wines into cuves in October, a bit earlier than usual "to protect fruit and freshness." Incidentally, Choppin de Janvry feels he picked a bit too early in 2005. "Now I'm paying more attention to phenolic maturity than simply to sugar levels," he said. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)