2003 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Marc

Pillot described the summer of 2004 as a difficult one, though he said there was much less oidium in Chassagne-Montrachet than in Puligny. The sites where he eliminated fruit at the end of July ultimately produced better grape sugars, noted Pillot, but even in these parcels the ultimate volume of the crop was high. He chaptalized all of his cuvees lightly, adding the sugar to extend the fermentations. The result was more fat in the wines, along with residual sugars in the 1.5 to 2 grams per liter range, or a little more than usual. The malos were mostly over early here; the wines had been sulfited during the first four months of the year and thus were showing well by the beginning of June. Pillot compares the 2004s to the 2002s in acidity but says they have less flesh. His 2003s have turned out extremely well; the best of them almost magically avoid the signature of the vintage. Pillot harvested on the late side, but acidified his '03s only lightly, and some not at all. He told me that early on he thought this had been a mistake, but now he's satisfied with his decision. "Added acidity would have dried the tongue," he said. "And besides, the wines seemed to pick up acidity during the alcoholic fermentations," an observation repeated by a number of Pillot's colleagues.

Some people violated the law of nature and picked too early, just 85 days after the flowering," opined Jean-Marc Pillot, who started harvesting chardonnay on August 30, nearly the normal 100 days after the flowering. We had to wait to have enough sugar so that we wouldn't have to chaptalize," he explained, adding that potential alcohols were typically between 13% and 13. 6%-"but not 14%!"In any event, he went on, the rain during the afternoon of August 27 really helped the grapes. Growers in Chassagne-Montrachet benefited by harvesting later, as a rule, than those in Meursault, Pillot added. Pillot reduced his percentage of new oak "to avoid getting even hotter, heavier wines. "The 2003s, he told me, have changed completely since April-and for the better. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Shekomeko NY