2001 Meursault Village

Arnaud Ente describes 2001 as "not too far from the quality of the 2000 vintage but with more fat and excellent acidity and good pHs, which were in the 3.2 to 3.3 range. Yields were down 25% year over year, which is to say between 28 and 40 hl/ha. We had very good maturities with everything coming in between 12.8 and 13.2% and even the Aligote reached 12%, which is high and as such, chaptalization was practically nil. There was also some hail damage, particularly in Goutte d'Or, which forced us to do a berry by berry triage. Ente said that he will bottle in April, as is his usual practice, probably without fining or filtration. There has been a change as what was previously called the Meursault Vieilles Vignes is now the Meursault "La Seve du Clos"; this is not the name of the vineyard, which is actually En l'Ormeau but rather the name of a cuvee. Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA).

The 2002 growing season wasn't a great one," said Ente, "but we got good concentration from the wind and were able to wait to harvest." Ente was one of a couple of growers who told me that there was a big drop in acidity just prior to the harvest due to the uptake of potassium during the rainfall at the beginning of September. In addition, said Ente, more acidity was lost during the precipitation of tartrates. Ente told me that 2001 shows a lot of similarities to 2002: very ripe, rich grapes picked at similar yields and with similar sugars, requiring no chaptalization. As always, Ente's 2002 Aligote and Bourgogne Blanc were among the best I tasted; the latter wine was particularly creamy and dense, offering superbly concentrated pineapple and grapefruit flavors - as good as many growers' premier crus.

There was a bit of noble rot at the time of the 2001 harvest, and the fruit was slightly lower in acidity than that of 2000," Arnaud Ente told me at the end of May. The grapes were larger but there was still 25% less crop owing to the severe green harvest Ente carried out, as well as to the crop-reducing effect of hail on a couple of his hillside parcels. Sugars were similar to those of the previous year, and Ente told me he chaptalized no more than 0.2 or 0.3%. Still, Ente prefers his 2000s today, but noted that the 2001s are still quite closed and hard to judge. Ente finds his '99s a bit heavier in style than his '01s and told me he moving toward earlier picking. I used to like superripe, lower-acid, round, rich wines, but my taste is changing." Although I do not generally provide full tasting notes on Bourgogne blanc or aligote bottlings, Ente examples are among the best that I taste each year; I particularly like the 2000 Bourgogne blanc and both cuvees in 2001.