2013 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Girardin harvested between September 12 and 23 in 2014 and all of the wines I tasted were from fruit picked before a substantial rainfall on the 24th except for the Meursault Blagny. According to enologist Eric Germain, grape sugars were in the healthy 12.5% to 12.8% alcohol range—a bit higher for the grand crus—and he did not chaptalize in 2014. He typically carries out a débourbage lasting between 24 and 48 hours but does not stir the lees in barrel. The percentage of new oak, which has declined steadily here in recent years, is now just 10% for the premier crus and 15% for the grand crus. All of the 2014 malos had finished by the beginning of April.

Germain believes that 2014 will be a long-aging vintage due to its density and balance. "It's a bit like a denser version of 2007," he told me. "The wines regained their minerality in the course of their élevage. With their mid-palate volume, they're like a more vivacious style of 2009." In comparison, he went on, the 2013s are a bit thinner in the middle of the mouth, like the 2011s."

According to enologist Eric Germain, the 2013s have been getting fresher with elevage."They began with a lot of malic acidity but the pHs now are still on the low side," he told me at the end of May.Some of the malos had not yet finished at the time of my visit.The chardonnay harvest here began on September 25, and the team attacked the pinot noir four days later, eventually picking until October 8.Grape sugars were mostly in the 12.2% to 12.8% range and most of the "lesser" wines were chaptalized a half-degree."But the grand crus that started at 12.8% will be bottled at only 13.1% or 13.2%," according to Germain, who added that several of the '13s finished with acidity levels close to five grams per liter.He stirred the lees just three or four times in all, preferring to roll the barrels "to keep the lees in reduction."Germain compared the best 2013 to the 2007s here but emphasized that today's wines are raised in less new oak than ever before:typically 15% for the premier crus for the first 12 months, at which point they go into older barrels.The 2012s here have turned out extremely well, but the 2013s may be even more exciting in the context of their trickier vintage.