2007 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot

Philippe Colin compared 2008 to 2004 in its combination of acidity and sucrosite. "The 2007s are more taut than either of those vintages," he told me. Colin waited to harvest in 2008, beginning with the pinot noir on September 24 and then attacking the chardonnay a few days later. The fruit ripened and concentrated quickly toward the end but still retained plenty of acidity, said Colin. Grape sugars were high: in the 12.5% to 13% range for the Chassagne villages but 13.7% for the Chevalier-Montrachet and a whopping 14.1% for the Demoiselles. But due in large part to the fact that he pulls leaves in his chardonnay vines as well as in his pinots to aerate the fruit, Colin said that there was not a problem with rot in 2008. He emphasized that he begins with clean juice in the barrels, by which I assume he meant that he retains a relatively small quantity of the fine lees. (Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, New York, NY; Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY)