2007 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Procès

Pascal Lachaux did very little pigeage during the vinification of his 2008s but heated his wines to 42oC for 24 hours or so at the end of the fermentations to extract "color and fat," as he thought this vintage began rather "hard and green." I thought his young '08s were quite promising, but it remains to be seen if this technique will compromise the aromatic high notes and ineffable complexity and delicacy of pinot noir. (Certainly more winemakers are admitting using this method, and the risk is that it will become a routine element in their vinifications, vintage in and vintage out.) Lachaux reported that his 2008s, which generally finished their malos last June, have pHs in the 3.55 to 3.58 range, with what he described as good acidity. He chaptalized most of his cuvees by 1.0 or 1.2 degrees. His plan was to bottle them with more CO2 but less SO2 than usual. Please note that I tasted most of the 2008s from new barrels, as the wine in older oak tended to be very reduced. By the way, Arnoux expressed the opinion that in 2008, new oak brought "good tannins" to the wines.

Pascal Lachaux is an unabashed admirer of the 2007 vintage, and clearly prefers the new crop of wines over the 2006s. In fact, he considers it his best vintage of the decade, as he views the 2005s as too concentrated. "I adore the finesse and purity of the 2007s," he told me. "The wines clearly display their terroir and they seem to be getting better week by week. In comparison, the 2006s are more broad-shouldered and a bit tough now. They've been closing down in recent months." Lachaux harvested between August 30 and September 5 in '07, chaptalizing most of his cuvees lightly and vinifying with an eye toward retaining fruit and freshness. He told me he has left grass between the vine rows for the past five years and that he's now getting more millerandage due to lower levels of nitrogen in the soil. Having smaller, better-aerated berries has meant much less rot in damp years.