2002 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru

Among the Chablis estates I visited at the beginning of June, Brocard was the latest harvester in 2003, waiting until September 10 to start picking. We wanted to get better phenolic maturity," explained Julien Brocard, who manages the estate's vineyards. The little rains in early September unblocked the maturing process.Still, the surmaturite we got in 2003 was the result of concentration through evaporation, rather than from real phenolic maturity," he added. We may have lost some tartaric acidity, but we actually found that the malic acidity in the grapes rose from about one to two grams in the week or so before the harvest.We added a little tartaric acidity to the must only to correct the pHs to get better fermentations. (Martine's Wines, San Rafael CA and Lauber Imports, New York NY

I tasted here with Jean-Marc Brocard and family, as well as enologist Clotilde Davenne. Brocard described the 2002 vintage as very high in sugar. The top wines, he told me, were not chaptalized. The 2002s, he went on, are fat, supple, pleasant wines with purity and finesse; acidity levels are "not great," but the wines still need some aging. The 2002s, he added, are floral, feminine wines, while the 2000s are more structured and minerally. The Brocards own 70 hectares of vines in Chablis, mostly on the south side of the appellation. My tasting here included a number of Brocard's Bourgogne bottlings from specific soil types, not to mention several village Chablis cuvees made from different sites and rootstocks. The wines here are typically bottled before the next harvest, but some are kept in tank until as late as 18 months after the vintage if the wines need extended elevage (Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA) Also tasted: 2001 Chablis Vieilles Vignes.