2005 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

"The grapes were very ripe in 2006, and acidity levels were slightly low," said Mounir Saouma. "Some wines reached 15% potential alcohol but in this growing season even 13% means more physiological maturity than the numbers would suggest." Saouma's approach to making the wines was "to delay everything." As he explained it: "The flavors were already great in the juice, so we wanted to slow down the evolution of the wines. We had our growers put the barrels in the coolest part of their cellars. And then when we took the barrels we placed them under our roof in January, with a slight sulfur addition, where they remained very cold." Saouma's plan was to bottle the wines earlier than in previous years, as he did for the 2005 reds (but not the whites). While he believes that the '06s will never really shut down in bottle, he predicts that the wines will age for a long time on their balance, and he emphasized that "the numbers don't accurately reflect the balance of the wines." As always, my late spring tasting of white wines here was tricky, as some wines still had a bit of unfermented sugar, while others were not yet finished with their malolactic fermentations. I have omitted notes on certain cuvees that were impossible to assess with confidence. Not only that, but a few of the 2005s I tasted were still in tank awaiting bottling. Due to missed communications, I was able to taste only 2005 grand crus during my visit to the Lucien Le Moine cellar at the beginning of June. (Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; Chicago Wine Merchants Selections, Chicago, IL; Atherton Wine Imports, Atherton, CA)

Mounir Saouma, who with his wife Rotem Brakir made 85 barrels of red and white Burgundy in 2005, up from 73 in 2004, describes 2005 as an easy year, with a moderate crop level and great natural balance."Certainly the reds will be great," he thought."The problem with a lot of white wines in 2005 is that people were lazy and made mistakes.Some people waited too long to harvest.People damned the 2004s at the beginning and glorified the 2005s.But 2005 white wines that finished their alcoholic and malolactic fermentations too quickly will not be great."Saouma and Brakir, who allow their wines to evolve at a snail's pace, moved their barrels up to the roof level of their Beaune cellar during the winter, where the much colder temperature virtually stopped all development for several months.As a result, both the sugar and the malolactic fermentations were just starting in several wines at the time of my visit; I have offered notes below on only a handful of cuvees that were more or less finished with their fermentations.As of the time of my visit, Saouma indicated a preference for the 2004 vintage for white wine.Interestingly, he describes his 2004s as "my biggest wines, even bigger than the '02s."Acidity levels are on the low side, and for that reason Saouma believes that the '04s will never be closed."You should be able to drink them anytime over the next 20 years."Adds Brakir:"If you want to learn about the typicity of Burgundy appellations, 2004 is the vintage to taste."(Vintus, New York, NY; Chicago Wine Merchants Selections, Chicago, IL; Atherton Wine Imports, Atherton, CA)