2002 Meursault Les Tillets

Javillier describes 2002 as "an exceptional year, with more material and power than 2000 but almost the same nobility." Following his experience with the 2001s, Javillier now plans to bottle all of his wines with the exception of the Meursault Clos du Cromin after a full 18 months of elevage(previously certain cuvees or parts of cuvees were bottled after 12 months). Whereas many vignerons who thought they had fragile wines bottled their 2001s early, Javillier believed from the start that this was a dangerous approach. He was convinced that because the wines were so clearly marked by the surmaturite of the vintage, they needed more time on their lees "to bring up the terroir character." In fact, Javillier's bottled wines from the 2001 vintage show very good clarity of aroma, freshness and structure.Javillier vinifies and ages most of his wines in two or more components, making use of different fermentations, as well as different use of the lees, then combining the pieces late. This year I tasted two of his 2002s in their component parts, and the differences among the various building blocks of each wine were striking. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; also imported by Langdon-Shiverick, Cleveland, OH and Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY)