1997 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Jacques Seysses, who began making Burgundy in 1968, ranks 1997 in the same exalted class as '69, '78 and '95. "These are my four best vintages, and they were all nice wines from the beginning," he notes. "The '97s will definitely be wines for the Jacques Seysses Retirement Plan," he notes. "Some of these wines are close to my ideal for pinot noir." Seysses, who looks for complexity, balance and length more than power, prefers softer tannins. 1997, says Seysses, benefitted from a rare concentration of thoroughly ripe tannins thanks to very low yields. (In contrast, says Seysses, the structure and acidity of '96 was somewhat diluted by the high crop level that year.) Seysses had the highest grape sugars yet at the domain in '97: in the 12.7% to 13.6% range. He picked the clonal selection vines early, then stopped for a full week before starting his massale vines, which ripen later. The '97s were bottled without fining or filtration in November and December.