1997 Puligny-Montrachet Demoiselles

Guy Amiot was one of several growers in Chassagne-Montrachet to tell me that he preferred 1998 to 1997. His '98s, he told me, are richer and more structured than his '97s, about a half-degree higher in potential alcohol across the board; no chaptalization was necessary this year. Acidity levels are similar in the two vintages, "although one feels the acids more in the '97s. With the slightly more concentrated '98s, the acidity is more enrobed." The '98s, he adds, are also more true to their sites. Incidentally, Amiot has been able to keep the temperature in his cellar significantly lower since the '95 vintage, with the result that the fermentations have gone more slowly and the wines have been finishing even drier: typically, with between 1 and 1.2 grams per liter of residual sugar. I may have caught these '98s at an awkward stage of their development: a few wines showed slightly tired notes of crab apple and honey.

Production levels in '97 were lower than those of '96, according to the convivial Amiot, but yields varied widely from vineyard to vineyard. His 25-year old vines tended to produce in the vicinity of 42 hectoliters per hectare, Amiot explains, but the old vines of Chassagne Caillerets and Puligny Demoiselles yielded less than 30. Sugars were slightly higher in '97 than in '96, and Amiot did not chaptalize his white wines. Nor were the whites acidified, though Amiot admits to having added acid to a few of his reds. Amiot describes the '97 whites as less floral and more immediately pleasing than the '96s. The '97s, he says, showcase the orchard fruits of the region: peach, pear, apple. In contrast, the '96 vintage is a "traditional Burgundy classic." The wines may be severe now, he points out, and they will certainly need at least six or seven years of bottle aging. Amiot, who typically performs a batonnage every 10 days or so, stirred the lees a bit longer following the '96 harvest than he did with the '97s.