2006 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru

Etienne de Montille is one of a minority of winemakers I visit each fall who make extensive use of the stems during vinification. More importantly, though, he does this with skill: the stems contribute an additional aromatic dimension and add structure to his wines without dominating them or hardening their finishes. Montille describes 2007 as much more successful than 2006 and generally vinified his various cuvees with at least 50% whole clusters, as he felt more confident about the quality of the grapes and the stems in 2007. (He eliminated 10% to 15% rotten grapes in '06, '07 and '08 but noted that the rot was inside the grapes in '06 and thus harder to spot.) In fact, he told me he thought the '07s have more stuffing than the '02s. He began picking pinot on the Cote de Beaune on August 29, then stopped for four days before attacking his Cote de Nuits vineyards on September 6. The fruit was lower in alcohol but higher in acidity than in 2006, yet still shows more phenolic ripeness than '06, he told me. "The challenge in 2007 was not to pick too early," he said. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille was not the only winemaker I visited in November to describe a difference in structure between the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits in 2006. He opted for a soft extraction, as he was not completely confident about the quality of the raw material and preferred to make fruity, appealing, light-bodied wines rather than ones that might be astringent, bitter or unclean. He began harvesting on the Cote de Beaune on the day of the ban, with potential alcohols in the high 13.2% to 13.8% range, eliminating up to 15% of rotten grapes in the vines and on the sorting table. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)