2005 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Girardin began picking his Puligny grand crus early in 2006, on September 15, and told me that there was a very narrow window for harvesting ripe but fully healthy fruit. In contrast, he was a late picker in 2005. Girardin doesn't crush the grapes, pressing them gently "like in Champagne." Although he kept a lot of lees with the wines in '06, he did "not a single batonnage." Girardin told me that the '05s have higher levels of dry extract than the '06s but that the '06s show more breed and more "terroir identity." They also have good aging potential."They'll need four or five years to express themselves," he said. My tasting of the line-up of '06s suggested that although the '05s may be richer, the newer set of wines are more taut and rigorous. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)

Girardin, whose technique continues to evolve, told me that he has stopped stirring the lees since the 2002 vintage."We do a long fermentation at low temperature," he explained."We don't need to stir the lees; that's too violent."In fact, he went on, with the 2005s he did virtually no settling of the must as he had almost no lees.The grapes were golden in color in 2005, he told me, but potential alcohol levels were a tad lower than those in 2004, when he harvested very late.The ripeness in Chassagne-Montrachet, especially on the Santenay side of the village, came late in 2005 due to the July hail."If you picked too early, there was the risk of making green wines," said Girardin.The 2005s, he went on, are flatteur, tactile and round."Two thousand four, though, is more classic in a drier style, and is a great year for aging if you picked late."Indeed, my own tasting suggested that the 2005s are sweeter and easier than the 2004s, with the only question mark in 2005 having to do with the spine and verve of these impressively fat wines.(Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)