2012 Meursault Clos du Cromin

Brothers Marc and Alexandre Bachelet described their "steady shift toward more energetic wines and earlier picking" on my most recent visit at the end of May. Marc credits their early picking in 2009 for the fruity, floral wines they made that vintage, and they harvested very early in 2011. In 2012, the premier cru vineyards here were affected by hail at the beginning of August in 2012, noted Alexandre, but it was really the problematic flowering that resulted in a tiny crop. Thick skins and a lot of dry extract yielded very dense wines, added Marc, and acidity levels were healthy, as they were in 2011. Still, I marginally preferred the 2011s here for their elegance.