2007 Meursault Clousots

Patrick Javillier described the 2008 and 2007 vintages as very similar: "classic, pure and fresh, with similar yields and similar acidity." Interestingly, he finds the 2008s to be almost as pure as the 2007s, and he believes they have a bit more material. He told me he avoided harvesting too late in both years for fear of getting aromas of surmaturite, even when the acids remained high. Incidentally, Javillier considers 2006 to be a "very commercial" vintage, but not traditional or classical in style. Two thousand five, he adds, will be superb, and slow to evolve. (A Peter Vezan selection; imported by The Wine Company, St. Paul, MN; also imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY)

Javillier describes his '06s as wines with "ripeness at the limit." With natural alcohol levels between 13.5% and 13.8%, leaving the wines on their lees for the normal time span here might have accentuated their ripeness and resulted in heavy wines. He bottled the '06s in October of 2007, earlier than usual. I got the impression that the lower-alcohol, higher-acid 2007s are more Javillier's style, but he nonetheless believes that they will be "a bit under 2004 in quality." Interestingly, Javillier described the new set of wines as "like a mix of 1984 and 1990." The wines needed contact with the lees but not much batonnage, he told me, explaining that he found the lees slightly bitter. A couple of the wines finished with a hard edge at the end of May, but the best of them were quite refined. (A Peter Vezan selection; imported by North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; also imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY)