1998 Meursault Cuvee Tete de Murgers Cuvee Speciale

"The '99s have surprised me with their acidity and structure, especially in light of the high yields," said Javillier at the end of June. "So I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of wine that has the material to support a later bottling." Fearing dilution at the outset, Javillier says he essentially conducted two different vinifications for a number of his cuvees "one for fruit and one for gras " For the wines vinified for sheer matiere he used SO2 to extend the fermentations in order to get more glycerine; most of these components then went into new barrels. Javillier '98s have turned out well; he told me that he had little oidium and thus the lees were clean in '98, as well as decent acidity levels roughly equal to those of the '99. He did not do a strong decanting at the outset, nor did he do much lees stirring before the malolactic fermentation, but he admitted to stirring a lot afterwards. Still, he emphasized, "1999 will ultimately be more interesting wine, more representative of Burgundy." Javillier showed me representative samples of the '99s in the cellar, assembled on the spot. "It would take the basic components a good two weeks to harmonize; today you can get an idea of the structure of the wines, but their purity is somewhat compromised by their leesy character." Accordingly, my '99 notes below must be taken as provisional. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and The Wine Company, Minneapolis, MN; also imported by Langdon-Shiverick, Cleveland, OH)

Javillier told me the '97s were low in acidity, like the '98s, but finished with reasonably healthy pHs in the 3.25 to 3.3 range. The wines, he says, have decent aging potential. In contrast, adds Javillier, the '98s show more early fruit and perfume, and thus these wines seem more charming and immediate. They will, by and large, be best suited for consumption before the '97s. Javillier hastened to point out that the '97s he bottled late (in March of this year) were put in cement cuves after the '98 harvest rather than spending their last months in barrel. Still, because he kept a lot of the lees with the wines, there was some further exchange with air and, thus, further development of the wines prior to the later bottling. Javillier says he used lees stirring for the '98s (less at the beginning but more after the malolactic fermentations finished) to replace part of the structure that was lost as a result of the early September rainy period. Fans of white Burgundy bargains will not want to miss Javillier excellent, late-bottled 1997 Bourgogne Cuvee Oligocene Cuvee Speciale, which shows uncanny vinosity, texture and length for its appellation. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Import!, Madison, WI; and The Wine Company, Minneapolis, MN; also imported by Langdon-Shiverick, Chagrin Falls, OH)