2018 Meursault Les Grands Charrons

Michel Bouzereau might not be one of the most conspicuous superstars of Meursault. He has a friendly and outgoing personality, yet he does not hanker for the limelight. I have been consistently impressed by his wines in recent years and his 2018s are no exception. I began by asking him about the timing of the harvest. “One parcel in Volnay was picked 23 August, but the main harvest with the full team commenced from 27 August and finished on 4 September in Blagny." Then I asked about the events leading up to it. "The first treatment in the vineyard was at the end of April, flowering on 23 May and full-flowering 29 May. It was very rapid and was finished by 1 June. It was warm but not too much as in 2017. June saw good temperatures with some rain from 3-10 June. It differs between appellations: there was 50mm in Meursault and 72mm in Puligny-Montrachet. There was slightly less rain in Chassagne and Saint-Aubin. Before the harvest, everyone wanted rain, fearing that there would not be enough juice in the berries. The sanitary conditions were excellent and there was no rot. Potential alcohol reached 12.5-12.9% by the time of harvest and they finished at around 13.5%. The total acidity was low but the pH was good at 3.2, due to the good levels of tartaric acidity, whereas the malic was very low. The malolactic fermentation was very quick and was actually finished before the alcoholic, on 15 November for the Meursault Charmes for example. It’s rare but it happens. All the malos were finished by January."