2013 Meursault Village

The hail in late June cut the crop by 50% but did not affect quality, said Fichet. His 2014s finished their malos in April or May and will remain on their lees in barrel until just before the 2015 harvest. Fichet described 2014 as "an agreeable vintage, without problems. If it lacks anything, it's acidity and punch." He compared the young 2014s to "early-picked 2006s," then admitted that he harvested too late in '06.

Fichet does a 48-hour débourbage but adds back a good quantity of "the cream of the lees," then carries out very little in the way of batonnage. Incidentally, he told me that he introduced a pneumatic press in 1997 but discovered that his wines were dying five years later as the juice was too clean. He determined that he had been too gentle with the press and that the juice needed more material to have greater longevity, so he steadily increased the length and strength of his pressing over the next several years. He continues to make appropriate adjustments for each vintage.