2012 Puligny-Montrachet Village

Two thousand thirteen was a demanding year in the vineyards, summarized Frederic Drouhin at the beginning of June. "The first half of September brought a lot of rain and cool weather that triggered botrytis and slowed the maturation of the grapes." Then good, warmer weather took hold from the 19th through the 28th and the family picked its Cote de Beaune vineyards during the first ten days of October--or almost exactly the same period as in 1978. "There was 20% botrytis beginning on October 3 and the skins were pink," noted Drouhin. "The Cote de Nuits was actually more of a challenge as the fruit wasn't very ripe and the berries started splitting after the rain of October 4." In the end, it's a very heterogeneous vintage for chardonnay, he added, with the yields and date of harvest being critical. Drouhin told me he found the wines austere in the early going.I was only able to taste a few of the finished 2012s as the Drouhins made tiny quantities of their Cote de Beaune wines and were extremely short of stock.

"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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