2012 Bourgogne Blanc

The 2012 Bourgogne Blanc had finished its malolactic fermentation at the beginning of September. It has a tight, crisp bouquet with limestone and dewy green apple scents that are muted at the moment. The palate is clean and crisp on the entry, stony rather than fruity with a brisk, light finish. Due to the exceptionally late malolactic fermentation, I only tasted around half of Jean-Marc Roulot’s 2012s. It was the usual travails that discombobulated the vineyards in 2012: poor flowering, rain in the early half of the season and pressure of mildew. The hailstorm on June 30 affected Jean-Marc’s parcels in the north of Meursault village, the second in August more those in the south. I will return next year to make a full account of his 2012s, but here are the five that were in a representative condition to taste. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524.

Mild reduction pushes the fruit to the background but there is good freshness and delineation to the delicious middle weight flavors that exude a refreshing hint of salinity onto the clean, dry and solidly complex and persistent finale. I like the balance and this should be a quality example. Tasted: Jun 15, 2014. Drink: 2016+