2011 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru

Henri Boillot used a sorting table for 100% of his white grapes in 2012 for the first time in his career, in order to eliminate dried grapes, burned grapes and those affected by hail: "It took a lot of time--and even more for the pinot noir--but we were able to start with very clear juice." For Boillot, who prefers aromatic, sharply delineated, bracing wines, acid levels and pHs are the most important determinants of when to pick, as they provide "the spinal column" of white Burgundy (the Puligny-Montrachet premier crus have acidity in the very healthy 4.5 grams-per-liter range in 2012). He picked with potential alcohols in the moderate 12.5% range and chaptalized lightly. Boillot told me he was away from Burgundy during the damaging hail storms of 2012, "so I didn't have to get depressed." Still, there will be no Chevalier-Montrachet, Puligny Caillerets or Puligny Folatieres in 2012 due to hail. Incidentally, Boillot has essentially abandoned making Chassagne wines as he says that the appellation is simply not his style. The 2012s had finished their malolactic fermentations and been sulfited one to two months prior to my visit.

For more on Henri Boillot, readers may want to take a look at notes from the complete collection of 2011s tasted from barrel here. Boillot comments that his 2011s have not shut down post bottling as the 2010s did. I am not sure that applies to the Genevrières, but that is true of the other three wines I tasted from bottle. We will be posting notes on the 2012s within the next week or so.

Henri Boillot describes his 2011s as more floral and fruity than his 2010s but less mineral. "It's like the difference between Meursault Genevrieres and Perrieres," he summarized. "The Genevrieres is all about fruit while the Perrieres is rocky and saline. Two thousand eleven is characterized by lichee, peach and ripe pear: white fruits. But the vintage also has a good vertebral column, similar to 2010." As is his habit, Boillot picked his chardonnay early ("I wanted spine"), beginning on August 29. Acidity levels are in the sound 4.15 to 4.5 grams-per-liter range and pHs are low. The wines are bone-dry (under one gram per liter, according to Boillot), but he noted that "creaminess gives them gras and sucrosite." Boillot has made some of the finest wines of the vintage in 2011.

Henri Boillot recently finished his move to a new modern cellar in Champ Lins, one of the industrial sections of Meursault. Boillot describes his 2011s as having a bit more richness and better balance of fruit and acidity than the 2010s. Based on what I tasted, it's hard to argue that point. Boillot seems to be one case where the 2011s have the potential to be better across the board than the 2010s. As is often the case here, the village wines are particularly strong.