2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

Veronique Drouhin was among the producers who told me last year she planned to give the 2011s more time on their lees than normal in order to give the wines more body, and that is exactly what happened. Some of the wines were racked later as well, which may help explain why the wines were a bit less expressive in this tasting than is typically the case.

"Frost, multiple hail storms and a terrible burst of heat in August resulted in a very short crop on the Cote de Beaune in 2012," said Veronique Drouhin at the end of May.But with just a couple of exceptions, the young '12s showed good balance and lively aromatic quality in spite of their atypical concentration.As to the 2011s, Drouhin described them as charming wines:"subtle, elegantly balanced, conveying the messages of their origins with precision."Some wines are serious, even profound, she went on, while others are "joy and happiness."They may be wines to enjoy sooner than later, she added.

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According to winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac, the 2011 whites were radically different after the malolactic fermentations.Even though he did not stir the lees, he said, the wines showed more body and harmony following the malos and revealed much more character.Acidity levels are now generally in the healthy 4.2 to 4.3 grams-per-liter range, added Faure-Brac, although the Meursaults are more like 3.85 to 3.9.Due to coulure in Meursault, Drouhin's yields in this village are barely higher than those of the previous year.Faure-Brac compared 2011 to 2007, "but the new vintage has more body and is more harmonious."Drouhin's 2010s have turned out splendidly but I have omitted notes on the final three wines because they were still in tank at the time of my visit.The Corton-Charlemagne and Batard-Montrachet were about as strong as I suggested they would be in Issue 158, while the hugely rich, structured Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, which remained on its lees until last December, had gained in complexity and harmoniousness while losing some of its more exotic aspects and appears to offer 94-96 potential.