2012 Meursault Les Tillets

The 2012s were higher in alcohol and acidity than he would have thought at harvest time, so Patrick Javillier did very little batonnage. "The wines already had a lot of material and I didn't want to risk having lees in suspension," he told me. Javillier prepared representative samples of 2012 a few days in advance of my visit "to let the various components meld," but for comparison purposes we also tasted most of the same cuvees directly from a single barrel. Javillier's 2011s, from a harvest he began on August 23, his earliest start ever, have turned out well. "The surprise is that they really taste like wines from fruit that was picked a month later." Javillier also told me me that he picked his 2010s too late, with too much potential alcohol and evidence of surmaturite. "Two thousand ten is not my classic style; they're almost Alsace-like," said Javillier, who normally vinifies for aromatic complexity and precision. (A Peter Vezan selection, www.vezanwine.wordpress.com; imported by The Wine Company, www.thewinecompany.net; also imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., www.martinscottwines.com)