1997 Richebourg Grand Cru

Anne Gros completed a spanking new cuverie behind her house in time for the 1999 harvest. The new facility is completely air-conditioned and also features more effective heat exchangers to cool the must. The '98s showed stunningly in November; the challenge will be to get their extraordinary perfume and silky texture into the bottle. The crop was of a normal size in '98, said Gros, and the fruit was very ripe but without surmaturite. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH)

Anne Gros brought in a very small crop with high sugars in 1997; very little chaptalization was needed. But the pHs were close to those of '95, according to Gros, and no acid adjustments were required. Except for the Vosne Romanee, the '97s were in tank in November, in preparation for a December bottling. Gros had not yet decided whether to filter her '97s, but noted that the wines had a lot of pectins and had been hard to clarify. The '96s at this address are among the standouts of the vintage, offering extraordinary sweetness and fleshiness to buffer their strong acids. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH)