2011 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

Enologist Eric Germain views 2012 as "un grand millesime for reds and whites but not in quantity."Production here was down 50% for the white wines and 70% for the reds, with the May frost having been particularly destructive to vines in the lower parts of Chassagne-Montrachet."The cold weather during flowering was really the cause of the tiny crop," he went on, but the hail storm on August 1 caused further damage in Puligny-Montrachet, the grand crus and Saint-Aubin.(The June 30 storm was worse in Pommard, Volnay and Beaune, he added.) The harvest started early here, on September 15 for the Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet, and the fruit came in with healthy potential alcohol levels in the 12.5% to 13% range."There was very little juice in the grapes and the skins were tough and thick and clean," said Germain, adding that "the large quantity of lees in the barrels has nourished the wines."Germain says he's happy with the way the wines have been made here since 2005 and that he hasn't changed much since 2007."We picked a bit too late and too ripe in 2002 and 2005, and there was still too much new oak in 2005, but we haven't had any problems since then."Total sulfur levels at bottlling are also substantially lower today than they were just five or six years ago.I have included notes on several 2011s that were bottled in the week or two prior to my visit; the superb grand crus and a number of premier crus were yet to be bottled.Here are new projected scoring ranges for the 2011 grand crus based on my most recent tasting:Quintessence de Corton-Charlemagne (93-94), Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet (92-93), Batard-Montrachet (93-94), and Chevalier-Montrachet (94-95).

Vincent Girardin remains here as a consultant following the passing of control of this company to the Compagnie des Vins d'Autrefois, with enologist Eric Germain, who had assisted Girardin in recent years, now in charge of winemaking.Germain told me that the chardonnay in 2011 gained in fullness and maturity of flavors and aromas during the last few days leading up to the harvest (he began on September 2 but picked a number of his top holdings on September 7 and 8)."The weather was dry and we didn't get an uptake of potassium, which would have compromised acidity," he told me."I can't say that one village did best, but the vines higher up on the hillside tended to produce wines with more tension in 2011."Potential alcohol levels were in the healthy 12.7% to 13% range, and the grand crus picked at 13.2% did not require chaptalization.This producer is now using its barrels on a five-year cycle--that is, no more than 20% new oak--and Germain believes that the lighter hand with the wood is augmenting terroir expression.There's no longer any use of enzymes or stirring of the lees.Interestingly, Germain believes that 2007, 2010 and 2011 are similar vintages with long aging potential.