1998 Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru

Rousseau carried out an extensive green harvest in 1999, and had the pictures to prove it. Still, he said, the estate-wide average was 42 hectoliters per hectare due to the large size of the grapes. In '98 and '97, in comparison, yields were in the low 30 h/h range. The '98s, which had been racked before the harvest, were showing very well in November. In fact, I was more impressed than ever before by the flavor intensity demonstrated by the first few wines in Rousseau's range; more than one of his colleagues told me that the work done in the vines in recent years by Charles's son Eric is bearing fruit. Rousseau Sr. continues adamantly to oppose heavily extractive vinification, which he says simply makes black wines without finesse. "All the wines made that way are the same," he notes. He believes that a healthy pH is critical, and thus reacidified the '98s in cuve, as he did with the '97s. The '97s have not benefitted from the late bottling done at this domain.