2009 Meursault Les Gouttes d’Or 1er Cru

"The balance of the 2009s has been a pleasant surprise," said winemaker Philippe Prost. "The wines were explosive in the beginning, but they had a green apple flavor and we were afraid of this because they don't have a lot of acidity. But during elevage, they have gotten better definition of flavor and there doesn't seem to be too much malic acidity." Prost noted that the fruit concentrated well in the last days before the harvest, gaining in minerality, and that Bouchard picked chardonnay before pinot noir because they were afraid of the acid level falling. Grape sugars therefore were not excessive, but they were higher than those of 2008 and 2007. No chaptalization was done for the grand crus or the Meursault premier crus. Prost went on to describe this vintage as offering "la beaute du diable": "The wines are flashy now, like lipstick, but what will happen after a few years? But, in fact, they are turning out to be more classic than we thought at the beginning." Prost did more batonnage in 2009 than in 2008, but he pointed out that he's more likely to roll the barrels than to stir the lees, as it's less oxidative.