2013 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

"Two thousand fourteen is 2010 with more purity," said CEO/advisor Bernard Hervet, adding that in 2010 the grapes "turned a bit" after the storm." Two thousand fourteen, he told me, has as much acidity as 2010 and is a great vintage. Potential alcohol levels were around 12.5% and the wines were chaptalized by about half a degree. As the Chardonnay bunches were very healthy, no sorting was necessary. The young vines often produced a normal crop, Hervet added, while production in Faiveley's old vines was off by as much as 40% from normal.

Unfortunately for me, the 2014 malos in this cold cellar started very late and very few wines were finished at the time of my vsit. "The grapes were too clean, the pHs too low," said Hervet, noting that the alcoholic fermentations were also slower to finish than usual. The wines have about two grams per liter of residual sugar, vs. a normal one. I have provided notes on just the few 2014s that were at least halfway through their malos at the time of my visit.

CEO/superconsultant Bernard Hervet told me that the 2013s "have the pHs and acidity of the 2008s but the aromas of the 2007s."He pointed out that although they are showing well early, they will still require a relatively long elevage, as the '08s did."They're still marked by the cold, acid vintage, and they will need a few years in bottle to show more complexity."Hervet believes that this will be a vintage more for connoisseurs and Burgundy lovers than for the broader market.I have provided notes on the 2013 Cote de Beaune wines that had finished their malolactic fermentations by the time of my visit at the beginning of June; a few cuvees had barely started. Also recommended:2012 Meursault Blagny (86).