2012 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru

Etienne de Montille described 2013 as "a good to very good vintage, but 2012 is great, with density, stuffing and balance." He went on: "Even the premier crus from 2012 will need 7 to 12 years of cellaring." The domain vineyards have been certified organic since the 2012 vintage.

Etienne de Montille has eliminated some red wines of Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet and moved some of that estate's top whites under the Domaine de Montille umbrella.Owing to the low yields and unusual intensity of fruit in 2012, he vinified the family domain's wines with a high percentage of whole clusters."The '12s have more mid-palate stuffing than the 2010s," he told me, "but not quite the ethereal, high-pitched quality of the earlier vintage.Both years are broad and full of energy."Potential alcohol levels were in the very healthy 12.5% to 12.7% range and only a few wines were chaptalized lightly.De Montille told me he did a relatively gentle extraction for his Cote de Beaune wines:a maximum of four punchdowns a day during the two or three most active days of the fermentation, but also some remontage "because the wines needed to breathe."The wines had been racked and returned to barrel because they needed more air following the very late malolactic fermentations, which finished mostly in August and September. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., www.martinscottwines.com; Beaune Imports, www.beauneimports.com; Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com)

Etienne de Montille's 2012 reds stand out for their intensity and personality. Much of that is attributable to the low yields, thick skins and slow malos that are so typical of this vintage. Because of the very late malos some of the wines in the range were impossible to get a read on, the Taillepieds in particular. In other cases, such as with the Malconsorts, the wines were clearer to read. Where that is the case, I have included notes. One of the aspects of these 2012s that is intriguing is that the domaine used a large percentage of whole clusters, yet the stems are much better integrated from the outset than they have been in the recent past.