2008 Beaune Les Teurons 1er Cru

According to winemaker Philippe Prost, the concentration of the pinot noir on the Cote de Beaune in 2008 came mostly from the wind (i.e., dehydration of the berries). As this was not a "natural" concentration, ripeness here is good rather than outstanding, and both malic and tartaric acidity levels were elevated, especially in normally cooler areas like Monthelie and Auxey-Duresses. On the Cote de Nuits, the maturity was more natural, he added. Still, there's a wide range of ripeness and concentration in 2008 by altitude. "The high wines are crisper and had a more classic maturity," he summarized. By the way, at the end of my tasting here, Prost showed me samples of Bouchard's top four white wines from the 2008 vintage, to make the point that 2008 is an excellent year here for chardonnay. They showed spectacularly, particularly the penetratingly mineral Chevalier-Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne, and it appears that I underrated a few of these wines last spring.