1998 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru

Assistant winemaker Olivier Leriche, who comes from the Beaujolais area, showed me the '99s in November, in most cases making approximate blends in my glass of the two or three major components of each wine. Yields in '99 averaged close to 50 hectoliters per hectare, Leriche told me, but closer to 40 in the old vines of Clos des Forets Saint-Georges. Vinification was gentle ("to privilege balance rather than sheer extraction," said Leriche) and the malolactic fermentations finished quickly. (Imported by Jeroboam Wines and Chateau & Estate Wines, New York, NY; Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; Ex-Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; Chambers & Chambers, San Francisco, CA)

Jean-Pierre de Smet describes the last three vintages ('99, '98 and '97) as offering good sugar levels, little or no rot, and average acids. Yields in '98 averaged a reasonable 34 hectoliters per hectare, and de Smet destemmed barely 5% of his fruit. As we tasted a promising 1998 Beaune Greves from barrel, de Smet informed me that his Nuits-Saint-Georges-based domain sold off this parcel following the '98 harvest. It was too far away and thus too much work, de Smet explained; there was also an ongoing erosion problem involving a neighbor property and an adjacent road. (Imported by Jeroboam Wines and Chateau & Estate Wines, New York, NY; Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; Ex-Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; Chambers & Chambers, San Francisco, CA)