1997 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

Dugat has some succulent, beautifully detailed '98s in the making, but he was just as excited about his new '99s when I visited in November. Dugat managed to hold yields in his grand crus to just 30 hectoliters per hectare in '99, unusually low for this copious year. But then yields here are always low, thanks to severe pruning in late winter followed by a spring bourgeonnage that limits the crop load to six to eight bunches per plant. Dugat also drops underripe fruit in August if necessary. He produced barely 25 hectoliters per hectare in '98 and just 20 to 22 h/h in his grand crus in '97. The '97s, incidentally, are among the thickest and most concentrated wines of the vintage and should be crowd-pleasers. But they are also atypically liqueur-like, even heavy, for wines from this producer as the fruit was at the extreme of ripeness. I sensed that Claude, a modest man who does not often comment on his own wines, does not particularly care for this style. He made it clear to me that he doesn't trust the surmaturite of 1997, recommending that his clients drink the wines early. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

One would have to be palate-dead, if not brain dead, not to enjoy Claude Dugat remarkably rich, sweet Burgundies. Dugat, a genial but quiet man who prefers to let his wines do the talking, left me with the distinct impression that he marginally prefers his '96s to his '95s, but still considers the magnificent '93s to be the most complete wines he has made to date. These wines are now extremely difficult to find in the marketplace, but are worth the search. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)