2005 Meursault Village

Fichet is one of several Meursault growers whose brilliant 2005s tipped me off that this was a special vintage for this village. In fact, Fichet loves this vintage. "It's everything I look for," he told me. "The wines have minerality, precision and energy, not to mention very good acidity," he went on. "It's exactly the style of wine that I've been looking for for years: taut and minerally." Fichet compares 2005 to 2002 but notes that the newer vintage is even better, as he's a more experienced winemaker now. In 2006, Fichet started harvesting on September 21, which he now believes was too late. An "electrical storm" on September 22 quickly changed the grape skins for the worse, he told me. But Fichet emphasized that he practiced a strict selection, eliminating the most affected grapes. Yes, the fruit was very ripe, but no wine reached 14%. The '06s will be more facile, and probably best suited for enjoying on the young side, he added.

Fichet describes 2004 as "the vintage of balance:minerally, agreeable, open."But 2005, he believes, has more depth, more material and a more important structure.During my time with Fichet, I brought up the subject of premature oxidation, which has been plaguing too many white Burgundies over the past decade.Fichet told me that this has rarely been an issue for him because he doesn't rush his fermentations or elevage."The more the wine gets used to air early, the more able it is to resist oxidation later in bottle," he explained."The more SO2 you use early on because you're rushing everything, the more quickly the wine absorbs it and the faster it oxidizes."Fichet does a full 18-month elevage:during the second winter he lets the temperature of the cave descend to about 40oF to clarify the wine, so that he can bottle without filtration.It also helps that Fichet moves the lees without aerating them, making a point not to lose any gas.(Domaines et Saveurs/ Jeanne-Marie de Champs; importers include USA Wine Imports, New York, NY; Boston Wine Company, Somerville, MA; Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; A. Bommarito Wines, St. Louis, MO; Vin de Garde, Portland, OR; and The Wine House Limited, San Francisco, CA)