2016 Montrachet Grand Cru

Mounir Saouma pointed that “there was a big surprise in the way we were originally talking about a full-bodied vintage in 2016 but then ended up with a more classical style.” He noted that in 2017, “there’s a disconnect in the numbers: pHs are low, acidity is low, alcohol is low. The white wines were easy to make but some of the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation finished much too early.” Two thousand sixteen, he went on, is more consistent, “and the wines have become civilized and crisp and fruity and clean. The Pulignys are evolving very slowly and they are not together yet. But the Chassagnes are there now."

At the time of my early-June visit, Saouma had not racked or sulfured his 2016 whites and he expected to bottle them before the 2018 harvest. But he apparently changed his mind since then and now plans to bottle the wines in October and November.