2012 St Aubin Blanc Les Champlots

Healthy pale yellow. Restrained aromas of lemon and spices. Less fat and more gripping than the Banc, delivering very good precision and intensity to the mineral and spice flavors. This very well-balanced Saint-Aubin finishes with enticing lemony cut and plenty of personality. (Incidentally, Colin bottled his Saint-Aubin wines last November, and the rest of the 2012s in April of this year.)

Similar to the village cru, the 2012 St. Aubin 1er Cru Champlots is reticent on the nose despite coaxing, offering only faint sea spray notes with aeration. The palate is more promising with very fine minerality on the stony entry. It is tightly wound and very Puligny-like with a long tail on the finish. Hopefully the aromatics will gain a little more vigor, so I would leave this for 12 to 18 months at least before broaching. Readers should check out my video taken with Pierre-Yves onwww.erobertparker.com, where he discusses his impression of the 2012 vintage. He is the prime example of a vigneron that might not possess his own vines, yet creates wines that surpass many of those who do. The bottom line is that volume was approximately 40% to 50% down compared to 2011 (apart from St. Aubin that was only 20% to 25% down.) Pierre-Yves explained that his 2012s displayed much higher acid levels compared to 2011 and opined that they will be shy at the beginning. He expressed the importance of not wishing to “push” the wines, so that he could stay true to what he feels is a more classic vintage in the mold of 2007 and 2010. Tasting through the complete set of 2012s, Pierre-Yves clearly had a firm grasp on the vintage and his wines were (again) a cut above the rest, from his generic white Burgundy to his clutch of grand crus. Importer: A Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300; also imported by Bertin Henri Selections, 10900 N.W. 21st Street, Unit 180, Doral, Florida 33172 tel: (305) 343-4054

Fresh and with quite a bit of volume. Nicely balanced and quite open and expressive. Not as painfully taut as some. Very fresh for the long term though, I would bet. (JR)