2010 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

The humid, showery September 12, which brought hail to parts of Santenay, also was responsible for taking the smaller 2010 grapes to very high levels of ripeness, said Michel Coutoux, who is Michel Niellon's son-in-law. "The grapes turned violet and surmuri, which made them quite delicate. We picked the grand crus on the first day, September 16th, and the Chassagnes beginning on the 18th. Partly due to millerandage and coulure, which yielded a mix of small and large grapes, Coutoux said that the ripeness was very uneven in 2010. "Some wines have the density and texture of 2008 but others don't." At Niellon's new facility on the outskirts of Chassagne-Montrachet, he can now bottle late if the vintage calls for it, and, indeed, Coutoux noted that the 2010s would probably be bottled in mid-autumnl (all the 2009s were in bottle prior to the 2010 harvest).