2008 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

I tasted this year with Gerard Boudot's assistant Bernard Riffault, who described the 2009 harvest as similar to the conditions of 2005. "The grapes were yellow but not too exotic," Riffault explained. "There was a bit more juice in the grapes in '09 and very little sorting was needed, so we made the full crop." Today Boudot starts with more lees, presses stronger and longer and does no batonnage, according to Riffault. The wines are more reduced during elevage, and that may be why he told me he thought they were "a bit compact, with a cold calcaire quality" when we tasted together. I thought they showed more crunchiness than the 2005s, whose aromas show a warmer aspect. Riffault believes the estate's 2008s will be easy to drink young. "Some are in surmaturite, almost with a botrytis character," he told me. "It's not a taut vintage or a classic year for aging, but the wines have good acidity and should have decent cellaring potential." Riffault finds the 2008s to be a bit more viscous than the 2009s as a group, describing the latter vintage as more classic. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)