2000 Pommard Les Pezerolles 1er Cru

Etienne de Montille was forthright about the difficulties on the Cote de Beaune in 2000. "We had the worst of the weather all summer long, not just in September," he admitted. "We started harvesting on Saturday the 16th, with more problems with dilution than rot. But rot in 2000 was hard to detect, as it was inside the grapes rather than merely on the skins. Luckily, we had purchased a new sorting table prior to the harvest, and we eliminated 25% of our grapes." With most of the affected fruit discarded, the domain was able to ferment with a higher percentage of whole berries. De Montille did a shorter fermentation, with minimal chaptalization (the wines are now only about 12.2% alcohol). He did less punching down of the cap than normal in an attempt "to retain fruit and ripe tannins." Still, this will not be a strong vintage for this property. The de Montille '99s, on the other hand, are sensational: Etienne describes the vintage as "the best for us since 1959 in terms of elegance and completeness."