2000 Chassagne-Montrachet

Gerard Boudot describes his 2001s as fat, fresh and a bit lower in acidity than his 2000s, but with similar sugars. The rains stopped about ten days prior to the vendange and some concentration was regained in the latter days of the harvest. Boudot admitted to a bit of rot in 2001 ("but the rot gave more gras and in any case I did very little stirring of the lees"), but maintained that rot was not an issue in 2000 and thus the earlier wines are "pure, elegant and precise." Thanks in part to cold weather this past winter, as well as to the somewhat higher amounts of sulfur added to the 2001 musts, the malolactic fermentations have gone very slowly, noted Boudot, who added that his Chevalier-Montrachet and Montrachet were just beginning their secondary fermentations. In virtually every instance, I tasted the 2001s from barrels that had finished their malos, which means that I tasted mostly from new or once-used barrels. Drink the premier crus after two or three years, suggests Boudot, the grand crus after five or six. Boudot, incidentally, describes his 1999s as "less elegant than the 2000s but with more material. The 2000s will be more expressive early." These wines have indeed turned out very well. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)