2000 Corton Renardes

For the first time, Vincent Girardin did a serious green harvest in 2000 on the plots of vines from which he buys fruit (in 2001 he went a step further, pulling leaves on 18 hectares of pinot noir vines). Girardin used reverse osmosis to concentrate a number of his 2000s from the Cote de Beaune, in an attempt to eliminate excess water that resulted from the storm that occurred just before the harvest. Still, grape sugars were fairly high in 2000, although lower than those of the previous year. As at many other addresses, the young 2000s here showed strong oakiness (as well as a pronounced element of chocolatey torrefaction); in a few cuvees the combination of new oak and concentration through reverse osmosis seemed to exaggerate the wines' tannins. Girardin planned to begin bottling the 2000s in January, a bit earlier than past practice. The Cote de Beaune wines were in cuve at the time of my November tasting, but the grand crus from the Cote de Nuits were still in barrel, unracked. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; some Girardin wines are also imported under the Baron de la Charriere label by European Cellars, New York, NY)