1999 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru

The 20th century went out with a bang for red Burgundy lovers, with the 1999 vintage producing copious quantities of excellent to outstanding wine.

From the outset, the 1999 red Burgundies offered a rare combination of charm and power. Most of the better wines were balanced and alluring from the start, but they are evolving very slowly and still have plenty of life ahead of them. While many of the ‘99s I sampled with the producers this winter have gone through sullen stages in bottle, most of them have launched into their periods of peak drinkability. If you own these wines – and especially if you chose wisely at the outset – you will be amply rewarded.

As at other estates in and around Morey-Saint-Denis, the Groffiers harvested fruit in 2000 with nearly off-the-charts sugar levels, routinely in the 13.5+% range (some of the Bonnes-Mares vines reached 14%). Due to their tireless work in the vines, the Groffiers have been getting riper and riper fruit in recent years. Perhaps perversely, for the first time I wondered if a couple of the young 2000s were almost too ripe to showcase their terroir But they are surely gloriously rich examples of pinot noir. As usual, the young 2000s were being prepared for bottling in floating-top stainless steel tanks in the Groffiers' cold garage when I tasted them in early November. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include Old Vine Imports, San Francisco, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Ideal Wines & Spirits, Medford, MA; and The Stacole Co., Boca Raton, FL)

Robert and Serge Groffier, tireless grape-farmers who generally produce far lower crop loads than their neighbors, made close to the maximum yields in the huge '99 harvest, and basically told me that anyone who claims he or she made significantly less is a blagueur(joker, or bullshitter). Despite the full crop, the fruit was gloriously ripe, and the Groffiers believe their '99s have more material, and sweeter tannins, than their superb '98s. They gave the fruit a ten-day pre-fermentation maceration at 8oC, then aged the wines for a year on their lees without racking before transferring them to tank in early October, where they were to have spent a few months digesting their SO2 before the bottling. Although my notes begin with the Groffiers' Gevrey villages their Passetoutgrain, from nearly all pinot noir, is worth a special mention: the '99 offers uncanny fruit for its category. And their '99 Bourgogne Rouge has the freshness and flavor intensity of many growers' premier crus. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include Old Vine Imports, San Francisco, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; and The Stacole Co., Boca Raton, FL)