2000 Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir

Michel Caillot had just begun to fine his 2001s at the time of my February visit and understandably declined to present them for evaluation. He told me that he will probably bottle them in April. I reviewed the 2000s in barrel in Issue 7 and above are the bottled reviews. With the exception of the Tessons, all of the Caillot 2000s finished at the top, or in a few cases above, my original predicted ranges. Given that the Caillot wines usually sell for very keen prices, these are well worth checking out. Classic Wine Imports, Boston, Massachusetts; The Stacole Company, Boca Raton, Florida).

Jean-Marc Roulot described the grape sugars in 2001 as "on the low side, about 12.2% to 12.7% in the village wines and 12.8% to 13% for the crus. The hailstorm on August 2 destroyed much of the vegetation, which in turn blocked the maturing process in such vineyards as Tessons, Luchets and Meix Chavaux." Roulot did a gentle pressing following the harvest and due to the fragility of the grape skins carried out very little batonnage Like a number of his colleagues in the village of Meursault, Roulot continues to view 1999 as the best of the recent vintages. The rain affected the village wines more than the crus in 2000," said Roulot. The result is that they don't have the purity or nobility of the '99s, not the same definition of terroir

Like so many of his colleagues in Meursault, Roulot favors '99 over '00. Sugars and acids were a bit higher in '99, but, even more important, the wines show great purity of flavor. "1999 on paper is quite like '92 in acidity and maturity," said Roulot. "Like '92 and '82, the '99s are very true to their terroir " At the beginning of September 2000, Roulot expected to start harvesting his chardonnay on the 13th of the month, and had his team in place. But following the rainstorm, he started instead on his pinot noir and Bourgogne, holding off until the 16th for his Meursaults. The rain, he admits, resulted in a bit of rot and some loss of purity. Still, notes Roulot, "if 2000 had followed a vintage like '93 or '94, we'd be much more enthusiastic about this year."