1998 Chambolle-Musigny Village

Mugnier made the full yields in 1999, after having produced an infinitesimal 20 hectoliters per hectare the previous year. He picked much of the fruit after the rains that interrupted the harvest but noted that rain in early September had already swelled the grapes and that the late precipitation caused little additional dilution. Mugnier shortened his macerations but did a more extractive vinification, punching down the cap more frequently. (In '98, in contrast, he did a cooler, less extractive vinification to avoid getting hard tannins.) The '99s are slightly higher in pH, and lower in sugar, than the '98s, which he describes as his best vintage of the '90s. I underestimated these '98s a year ago; the Musigny in particular is stunning-an early candidate for wine of the vintage. The '99s had been racked and sulfured about three weeks prior to my visit and thus may well turn out to be more supple than they showed in November. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; and Esquin Imports, San Francisco, CA)

On my annual visit to the Chateau de Chambolle-Musigny, I found myself discussing the then-recent Egyptair disaster and its possible causes with Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, who is a professional pilot when he not running his Burgundy domain. I asked Mugnier which of his jobs was easier, making wine or piloting an aircraft. "It's much easier to fly a plane," was his response. Mugnier is more willing to take risks when plotting the best harvesting strategy. "I have better acidity levels in my vineyards than most of my neighbors due to relatively low potassium levels in the soil, and therefore I need to wait in order to get low enough acidity. So usually I'm one of the last in the village to pick, which is always a gamble. But late harvesting paid off with the very small crop of '98." Mugnier describes the '98s as attractive, serious, balanced wines, with good concentration but no aggressiveness. Along with the '97s, he added, they are more sensual wines, while the '96s are more intellectual. But, he asks, "will the '96s give more pleasure?" Mugnier made just 33 barrels of wine in '98, compared to 50 in '97 and 75 in '96. x000D x000D x000D x000D Mugnier shortened his cuvaison from 21 to 16 days in '98, keeping the most active part of the fermentation relatively cool to extract color and softer tannins, then raising the temperature for the last few days and decuving quickly. "In the old days, before temperature control," he explained, "high-temperature fermentations gave great mouth feel but often at the expense of primary fruit, while extended macerations brought about greater extraction but risked losing color." (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Glazers Wholesale, Dallas, TX; Esquin Imports, San Francisco, CA)