Greg - if it’s any consolation, I’ve had the BdM 2010 CC maybe six times, and it’s been consistently lovely
Dave:
2010 seems to be one of the worst vintages ever for Boillot in terms of premox. Over two nights we had six bottles of which three were advanced, one was grotesquely oversized for Meursault and full of botrytis (and later imploded in the glass), one was corked, and one was unusually big for BBM but quite good. I’m not a happy camper because I still have six packs of the MP and Corton Charley left in my cellar along with two Chevalier Montrachets.
I have essentially no experience on the age-ability of 3 Liter bottles and I only rarely buy magnums of white burgundy. My rule of thumb for the drinking window on magnums is 1.5 times the expected drinking window for 750s. So, if it were say a magnum of Roulot MP, I would say, instead of my usual 8 to 12 year window for the 750s (in Roulot’s case, but not many others), and I would assume a window of 12 to 18 for a magnum.
So recognizing that this is a pure guess on my part, my thought would be with a 3 Liter bottle, my rule of thumb would translate to 2.25 times the expected drinking window. For Boillot, my suggested time window is normally 5 to 8 years. So, for a 3 Liter, that would be 11.25 years to 18 years after the vintage, or 2021 to 2028.
Sorry I can’t be of more help. Maybe some of the folks who regularly buy big bottles have a better feel for the appropriate real-world multiplier.
Thanks for the hope! It’s definitely being opened this year for my birthday though - I’m too afraid to wait any longer!
Magnums are generally considered to be the most ageable format. Mags and 750s use the same size cork, and that alone is a huge advantage (in terms of cork size & consistency of seal). Also, Mags can be bottled via a automated bottling line, which will get the least amt of Oxygen pick up in the wine during bottling. Larger formats are always bottled by hand, possibly more O2 pick up (not much if they’re careful).
Don’s 1.5 times 750 for mags is consistent with my mag experience, and other reliable opinions. Experience with larger formats is much more rare, but I wouldn’t go higher than 1.5 times, and possibly a bit less.
Don,
Thanks for your notes. Very helpful.
2010 is a funny year. Some wines tasted ‘different’ to my expectation but did not realise until now that it could have been the botrytis influence that I was experiencing.
We had a oxidised PYCM 2010 last night. I had few more advanced PYCMs from 2010 and 2012 recently. Any comment?
Hi Sanjay
There is a definite heaviness in many cases and some are overwhelmingly sweet for white burgundy.
We occasionally experience premoxed PYCM wines at these dinners too (for example, the 2009 Chevalier Montrachet a year ago) and I occasionally (but rarely) get one at home. Pierre-Yves and I have discussed premox and his approach to it several times over the years, including most recently in March. He is doing the right things in the elevage process, including restricting batonage and monitoring the SO2 levels and using 35-40 ppm of free SO2 at bottling. Unlike Boillot, there don’t seem to be any across-the-board failures with PYCM bottles, so this suggests that the occasional problems for him continue to be cork related rather than wine-making related. Beginning with the 2010 vintage he has switched diameter on the corks from the standard 24mm to 25mm, as this produces a tighter seal. He also uses wax capsules to help further inhibit oxidation. We also discussed DIAM corks in April. While he acknowledges that the premox results are very good so far, he’s still not completely sold on the idea. Pierre-Yves also wonders about whether the FDA-approved binder material that glues together the pellets of sterilized cork will somehow break down with many years of aging and thus might somehow leach into the wine. He’s continuing to monitor the situation.