1999 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

Managing director Bernard Hervet describes the Bouchard 2000 whites as very clean, pure, linear wines, from rot-free fruit picked early to retain acidity. "We can compare these wines in quality to '92 or '89," he told me at the end of May, adding that they're a bit lower in acidity than the '99s. Bouchard actually purchased 35% less fruit and must in '00 than in '99, said Hervet, and declassified or sold off a good bit of pinot noir from the Cote de Beaune. But the chardonnay grapes were healthy. "We looked for longer pressing, longer contact with the skins," winemaker Philippe Prost told me. "We began with clean grapes and were able to look for richness of flavor." Incidentally, Bouchard does batonnage by rolling the barrels, thus avoiding any unnecessary addition of oxygen.

The much-improved white Burgundies from Bouchard had caught my attention in recent vintages for their aromatic purity and class. With the '99 vintage, they have a bit more richness and texture too, with the result that this was one of the finest sets of white wines I tasted on my recent tour of the Cote de Beaune. Winemaker Philippe Prost describes '99 as better than '98; in terms of ripeness of fruit, he compares '99 to '92. "But nature was a bit too generous in '99: the wines show purity but lost a bit of concentration due to the sheer quantity of fruit," he added. "It will be a vintage to bottle on the early side to prevent the wines from drying out." In comparison to the wines made here in the 1980s, today Bouchard whites are typically a good half-degree lower in alcohol. "We like to pick early to protect the freshness of aromas," said managing director Bernard Hervet, adding that the '99s were chaptalized about a half-degree in most cases to extend the fermentations. Following the tricky '98 harvest, Bouchard used a triage table and carried out two separate debourbages one at regular cellar temperature and one cooler. As the levels of tartaric acidity were somewhat elevated-a result of the heat of August, which temporarily blocked the maturing process-Prost did his normal lees stirring to enrich the wines.