1998 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

Manager Thierry Brouin told me that 1999 was the first year in which the estate did a full-scale green harvest. "And there was further selection on our triage table," he added. The yield was a copious 45 hectoliters per hectare for the Clos des Lambrays (compared to just 28 in 1998), but with potential alcohol ranging as high as 12.9%. Brouin removed about 15% of the stems in order to have enough room in the cuves to vinify this huge crop, then did a shorter maceration with less pigeage the color came quickly, said Brouin, and he didn't want too much extraction.

According to estate manager Thierry Brouin, "1995 was a vintage of terroir 1996 of cepage and 1997 of climat." "Nineteen ninety-eight," he added, "offered a perfect combination of cepage and terroir; it's like a cross between 1993 and 1995." We were very worried following the rains of early September, added Brouin, but the wines have turned out to be quite classic in style. No destemming was done following the harvest, and the fruit received a natural five-day cold maceration before the fermentations commenced. Brouin made a point of telling me that the domain cut the price of its '97 more than 20% from '96 (this is a relatively inexpensive grand cru in the first place), making the very good '97 a real bargain in Burgundy terms.