1996 La Tâche Grand Cru

Aubert de Villaine believes the '96s are very much like the '66s made by this domain. In '66, he explains, yields were even higher, but the fruit showed strong acidity and good sugar levels and displayed explosive fruit in the barrel. The '66s "didn't like" the bottling, and for the next ten years they were "as closed as stones"; similarly, says de Villaine, the '96s are in the process of shutting down in bottle. "There are two things I've learned through the years," notes de Villaine: "First, it is a mistake to try to extract through enological means. And, second, when they are ripe enough it good to keep the stems. If you put something a little green into the bottle, it enables the wine to age more gracefully; the wine matures like a flower." De Villaine describes the acid levels of '97 as lower than those of '96 but adequate. Still, the wines will be bottled quite early (the Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux were already in bottle at the end of January), barrel by barrel to avoid having to do a second aeration.

Aubert de Villaine comparison of '96 and '95 is markedly different from that of many of his neighbors. 1996 was a "euphoric" vintage, he says, because the wines were easy to harvest and vinify. The tannins, though fat and seductive, are quite obvious, so he describes '96 as a masculine vintage. 1995, in comparison, is less tannic, more feminine, despite yields that averaged about 20% lower than in '96. Incidentally, the '95 Echezeaux and Grands-Echezeaux were picked after the showers that fell in early October. But, contrary to what one might expect, they have relatively low pHs for the vintage, because it was the ripest grapes that were attacked by rot and immediately eliminated at harvest time.