2009 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Jean-Marc Boillot told me he picked his pinot noir and chardonnay early, beginning on September 3, using 60 pickers to bring in his fruit in four days flat. The wines are very dry, clean and classic (potential alcohol levels were 12.8% to 13%), but it remains to be seen if Boillot has captured the potential richness of the vintage. Boillot does a severe debourbage and thus begins his elevage with very clear juice. Although the malos were finished by mid-January, he continued to do a regular batonnage and had stirred the lees just four days before my visit. "I don't like clear wines," he explained. "The lees are reductive and protect the wines against oxidation. The new fashion is crazy; I argue all the time with my friends who have stopped stirring." Interestingly, Boillot told me that although his 2008s generally finished with acidity in the moderate 3.8 grams-per-liter range, they can seem more acidic than the 2007s due to their sound levels of tartaric. In 2007, in comparison, the acidity was mostly of the malic persuasion. He added that he finds both 2009 and 2008 to be less minerally vintages than usual, but easy to taste young. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; also a Becky Wasserman selection; numerous importers) Also recommended: Meursault (86).