1998 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru

"Why, with the succulent sugar/acid balance of so many '99 whites, isn't anyone making claims for greatness?" I asked Dominique Lafon. He replied: It is an outstanding year." He continued, "I said this for '97 too, but '99, in terms of the quality of both the reds and whites, may be my most successful vintage yet, even considering the huge crop." The wines have been easy to make, added Lafon, who compared their textures to the estate '82s, but with the added richness of '97. In comparison, notes Lafon, the '98s are almost too rich but not elegant enough, says Lafon. "They are big wines, but they are not fine in terms of flavors and complexity." I sense that some of Lafon's fruit was picked a bit later than was ideal: surely with all the weather challenges of the growing season, ripening was uneven, and deciding when to harvest was a challenge. "I made 290 barrels of wine in '99 and only 120 in '98," noted Lafon, "but I was dead at the end of the '98 harvest. In '99, it was more like playing than like work." Lafon fined most of the '98s, and feels that this process has helped to clarify the flavors.

Dominique Lafon describes 1998 as an extreme vintage for white wines, with total yields sharply lower due to frost and hail in the spring (Lafon produced just 120 barrels of wine in '98 (reds and whites), compared to 195 in '97 and 230 in '96). Concerned about the quality of the lees, he did a long debourbage and then was very selective about adding back a portion of the lees. Still, he told me at the end of May, the '98s show more fermentation aromas and less fruit than the '97s did at a similar stage of their evolution. The acids were a bit lower in '98 than in the previous year, but still average, according to Lafon. The '97s here are turning out well; Lafon describes them as more elegant than his '92s. Lafon did relatively quick fermentations and, although the lees were healthy, he did limited work with the lees as the wines were already round and intense. Still, the wines remained on their gross lees, protected by CO2 until they were racked in late July. The '97s, says Lafon, are finishing both drier and richer than the '98s.