2001 Meursault En La Barre

Francois Jobard told me that 2001 "was extremely rich in sugar though because it retained good acidity, the resulting wines are well balanced and quite long. Most parcels were harvested at around 13% and as such we didn't chaptalized. They are also more expressive than the 2000s were at the same point in time and there is perhaps a bit more density as yields were down approximately 10% year over year. And while it is too soon to tell, they may age just as well if not better than the 2000s." The present plan is to bottle in April for the lower level wines and in July for the rest. Martine's Wines, Novato, CA and Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA).

Jobard describes 2002 as an ample vintage, with a lot of fat, sufficient acidity and good structure for aging. The crop was smaller than that of 2001; the 2002s, he told me, have more alcoholic richness but acid levels are not higher than those of the previous year. In fact, Jobard went on, there's not a big difference in quality among the last four vintages, except that the 2000s are a bit more delicate in style. Potential alcohols in both 2001 and 2002 were in the high 12.5% to 13% range, requiring almost no chaptalization in 2001 and none at all in 2002. The 2002s had for the most part finished their secondary fermentations by the time of my visit, but had not yet been sulfited.