2003 Volnay Les Fremiets 1er Cru

This estate consists of 10 hectares, divided among 17 appellation, including 10 premier crus. Jean-Pierre Charlot told me he extended the harvest by a full three days so that he could select carefully and leave behind the fruit affected by hail. "When you use a sorting table, you can't easily see the hail-damaged side of the clusters from above," he maintained. Charlot calls his style of winemaking "as paysanne as possible, with minimal intervention. For me, pinot is about fat fruit, round tannins and finesse. "Charlot harvested his 2004 fruit with potential alcohol in the 11. 5% to 12% range, then chaptalized 1% to 1. 5%. "In 2004 I preferred to pick at 11. 5% rather than lose acidity and have to acidify," he explained. He ferments with wild yeasts and keeps the temperature from exceeding 33oC in order to protect the fruit. The wines were racked in June of 2005, then transferred into cuves in a small tank room after the 2005 harvest so that Charlot could bottle them later without fining or filtering. Charlot told me he stopped filtering with his 2002s, thanks to input from his U. S. importer. These are solid wines with a noble rusticity, not to mention noteworthy purity of fruit. (Vintage '59 Imports, Washington, D. C. )