2011 Meursault En La Barre

The malolactic fermentations are typically slow to finish in this chilly cellar, and 2012 was no exception.Antoine Jobard described the estate's problems with hail storms (Meursault on June 30 and the Puligny side on August 1) and noted that there was considerable difference between the hailed-on vines and those that were less affected.The vintage is "rich enough" and the vines affected by hail tended to retain more acidity, he told me."There's no reason in theory why the 2012s won't age," he said."We had healthy grapes with no botrytis or surmaturite."I will wait until next year to report on Jobard's 2012s, but my favorites in the early going included the Meursault Blagny, Poruzots and Charmes.The 2011s here clearly have less material, and Jobard fined the wines in barrel for the first time as he felt they had a green side."At the beginning I compared them to the 2007s, but the '07s are more saline, lemony and long.The biggest problem with the 2011s is that they taste different every time we try them.They were up and down during their elevage."Jobard lightly chaptalized some of the 2011s for the first time since he started working with his father Francois in 1998.Just a few of the 2011s had been bottled by the beginning of June; the rest were in cuve or barrel awaiting bottling at the end of the month.

This is a beautiful set of wines from Antoine Jobard. The 2011s stand out for their harmony and accessibility. I imagine most, if not all, of these wines will offer their finest drinking relatively early. The harvest started on August 29 and lasted 6 days. Jobard points out that the growing cycle lasted 115 days from flowering to harvest, which is quite long by any measure. The flowering, though very early, was without incident. Jobard is among the producers who favor lengthier élevage in barrel. His 2011s spent 18 months in barrel (20% new) followed by 2-3 months in tank. The Bourgogne, village wines and Puligny Champ Gains were all bottled in March, while the rest of the wines were scheduled to be bottled a few days after my visit.