2011 Corton-Perrières Grand Cru

Jean-Nicolas Méo's 2011s were quite awkward from barrel. Fortunately, I was able to taste a few finished wines from bottle. According to Méo, sugars were the lowest since 1994. All of the wines were lightly chaptalized, which was common in this vintage. At first, I thought 2011 would be a vintage of easygoing wines, but some of the wines I tasted from bottle suggest otherwise, although I stress I only tasted a selection of 2011s and not the entire range.

Jean-Nicolas Meo describes 2011 as "much better than 2007, with a bit more of everything." He began harvesting on September 2 with grape sugars in the 11.5% to 12% range, then chaptalized less than one degree "in increments to prolong the extraction," bringing the wines up to about 12.5%. "It's still a light vintage in terms of alcohol," he told me. Meo did a pre-selection in the vineyard to nip the spread of rot in the bud, then eliminated another 10% or so of the grapes in the winery. Most of the wines had been racked once at the time of my visit, and Meo told me that he had added a bit too much sulfur, which made some of the wines tricky to taste. The 2011s, he added, are now more structured than they appeared to be last winter, and the vintage is dominated by red fruits. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, www.kermitlynch.com; also represented by Domaines & Saveurs/Jeanne-Marie de Champs; importers include Frederick Wildman & Sons, www.frederickwildman.com and Winebow, www.winebow.com)