2009 Meursault Les Boucheres

Jean-Marc Roulot is one of the most thoughtful, introspective growers in Burgundy, so it is hardly a surprise his 2009s are so sublime. The domaine has grown to 15 hectares as of the 2011 harvest. Roulot was among a grou of investors including Dominuqe Lafon who purchased Domaine Rene Manuel from Laboure-Roi. Readers can look forward to two new wines from Roulot a Meursault Clos de la Barre, Meursault Clos de Bouchere, plus a little more production of the Poruzots. Roulot was among the first to harvest, and started picking on September 1st. According to Roulot, the optimal window for picking has become much narrower with today's increasingly warmer growing seasons. Roulot told me he prefers 2009 to 2008 as the fruit was healthier, with no botrytis or other issues, which resulted in wines of greater focus. The 2009s spent 12 months in oak followed by 6 months in steel with very light and infrequent bâtonnage. The Bourgogne saw less than 10% new barrels, while the village wines saw 15-18% new barrels and the premier crus 25-30% new barrels. Unfortunately I was not able to taste the 2010s as they were in full malolactic fermentation.

As at a number of estates I visit regularly on the Cote de Beaune, my tasting here at the beginning of June was really my first opportunity to get a clear look at the 2008s, since so many of these wines were in the middle of their atypically late secondary fermentations during my previous white wine tour. Roulot told me that he now prefers 2008 to the somewhat exotic 2006 vintage "but I wouldn't have said that a year ago." Still, he said, the '08s are for drinking before the 2007s because their acidity is more buffered by flesh. And he doesn't quite trust the raw material in 2008. "Two thousand seven is a sharply focused vintage for the purist," he told me, adding that the grapes were healthier than those of 2008. The newest crop of wines, the 2009s, remind Roulot of the 2002s: "They have tasted good since the beginning. By the way, the 2002s are to drink now. They won't be better in five years than they are now." He then opened a bottle of the 2002 Tessons, which was silky, sweet and at its peak.