1997 Meursault Les Clous Cuvee Speciale

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)

Javillier describes 1996 as his best vintage yet in terms of the balance and structure of the wines. "The year brought an incredible combination of high grape sugars, high acids and elegant aromas," he notes. "It combines the best traits of 1990 and 1989." Still, he says, the '96s don't yet show the complexity of the '92s "so it not quite a perfect vintage." Batonnage was especially important in a year like '96, says Javillier, because it helped to compensate for the higher acidity levels and lower residual sugar (the wines finished their fermentations with around one gram per liter) of these wines. 1996 is a great vintage, he says, but it will be necessary to wait at least three or four years before pulling corks; impatient drinkers will get less satisfaction from these wines than they would from a weaker year. The late bottled wines in particular are rather austere today, according to Javillier. "One gets the structure now, but not the pleasure." x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D Javillier was enthusiastic over the '97s and described this year as a very good vintage for him. They are flatteur in the best sense of the word, he notes, and will drink well before the '96s. They have good alcoholic richness but are not top heavy, he points out. Like many of his colleagues, he was surprised by how much acidity remained after the malos. Still, this will be a vintage conducive to early bottling. Even the cuvees that will be bottled 18 months after the vintage after spending longer on their lees will probably be kept in tank during the months leading up to the mise. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include The Henry Wine Group, Benicia, CA and The Wine Company, Minneapolis, MN; also imported by Langdon Shiverick, Chagrin Falls, OH)