1997 Meursault Les Tillets

Yves Boyer describes the '98 and '97 vintages as very close in quality. The '97s, he says, are a bit more minerally, a bit more structured than the '98s, but have similar acidity levels, while the '98s appear more tendre today and are tasting well early. The earlier vintage has a bit more material, he adds, and thus may be a better bet for aging. Boyer tries to pick on the early side to retain acidity, and then chaptalizes a bit to enrich the wines. The wines bottled without filtration for North Berkeley Imports are made in a higher percentage of new barrels-with the used barrels generally just one or two years old. Both sets of wines are bottled before the next vintage. As at most of the addresses I visited this spring, the malolactic fermentations were finished, but the wines had not yet been racked. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Westbury, NY; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and Import!, Madison, WI)

Yves Boyer describes the '98 and '97 vintages as very close in quality. The '97s, he says, are a bit more minerally, a bit more structured than the '98s, but have similar acidity levels, while the '98s appear more tendre today and are tasting well early. The earlier vintage has a bit more material, he adds, and thus may be a better bet for aging. Boyer tries to pick on the early side to retain acidity, and then chaptalizes a bit to enrich the wines. The wines bottled without filtration for North Berkeley Imports are made in a higher percentage of new barrels-with the used barrels generally just one or two years old. Both sets of wines are bottled before the next vintage. As at most of the addresses I visited this spring, the malolactic fermentations were finished, but the wines had not yet been racked. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Westbury, NY; Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; and Import!, Madison, WI)

Boyer began the 1997 harvest early, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol in the 12.8% range in most of his top holdings; chaptalization was unnecessary in the crus Boyer does a 12-hour debourbage during which the gross lees fall out. He is then able to do a weekly batonnage until the end of the malos to get wines with greater body and richness without worrying about introducing off aromas. The batonnage he points out, helps to finish off the alcoholic fermentation and keeps the ultimate levels of residual sugar lower. The '97s had been sulfited but were still on their lees at the time of my visit. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; and Michael Skurnik Wines, Westbury, NY)