2005 Meursault Les Tillets

"We had sufficient grape sugars on September 18 but we didn't yet have enough concentration," said Vincent Boyer, explaining why he waited until the 23rd to start harvesting in 2006. Despite picking on the late side, though, he told me that acid levels were sound and that no acidification was needed. "And there weren't a lot of blue grapes," noted Boyer, referring to a phenomenon reported by many late pickers, who watched their grape skins take on a bluish tone following thunderstorms during the main week of the harvest, perhaps due to abrupt changes in atmospheric pressure. As in past years, my notes on finished wines here include a mix of special bottlings done for U.S. importer North Berkeley Imports and Boyer's regular bottlings. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and Dionysos Imports, Lorton, VA) Also recommended: 2005 Meursault L'Ormeau*.

Vincent Boyer, who has been in charge of vinification since the 2002 harvest, describes 2005 as "ripe and balanced, with good acidity."The family picked a little later than average, with grape sugars at 13% or more, and very little chaptalization was done.Boyer stirred the lees weekly for the first two months, then cut back on batonnage for fear of getting heavy wines.I was underwhelmed by a couple of the village wines here, and even a couple of premier crus were not yet showing much personality at the beginning of June.(A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and Dionysos Imports, Lorton, VA)