1997 Musigny Grand Cru

The Drouhin reds, especially those wines from their own vines (as opposed to their negociant bottlings, from purchased grapes and/or wine), are consistently supple, perfumed wines that impress more with their precise, complex aromas than with their sheer palate presence in early tastings. Yet these gently extracted wines can offer surprising longevity, strong evidence that balance is the key to graceful aging in bottle. After the fruit is sorted on a table de trie, then destemmed and crushed, it is moved into the fermenters without being pumped. Vinification is done in a combination of small wood vats, small vertical stainless steel vats and larger stainless steel fermenters. The producer's Clos des Mouches uses all three types of fermenters, says vineyard manager Philippe Drouhin, "and we don't notice a bit of difference among these vessels, although it is easy to overextract in the large tanks if one is not careful." Following a 12-hour decanting in stainless steel, the wines are moved by gravity to the barrel cellar, where a relatively low percentage of new oak is used for aging. Philippe made it clear that the house is aware of criticism that its wines privilege aroma over body. "In fact, we've done a bit more cold maceration since the '95 vintage," notes Philippe. "But it's always tricky to extract more without losing the finesse of pinot noir."