1998 Echézeaux Grand Cru

Literally days before the 1999 harvest began, in part due to the very low acidity of the fruit, Jacques Seysses purchased a destemmer that does not crush the grapes. "The acidity would have been too low if the stems had been included," Seysses explained. "It miraculous to have this kind of quality with such a high yield," added Seysses. "The fruit was even riper and more concentrated than in 1990; we added more sugar in 1990. But then there have also been a lot of improvements in viticulture-for example, we use green cover and no longer use herbicides." Yields averaged about 46 hectoliters per hectare in 1999, and just 30 in 1998, according to Seysses. "The '98s are more structured and less charming wines than the '97s; we may even eventually drink the '96s before the '98s," Seysses told me in November. "The '98s are preferred by the younger generation here at the estate, but my wife and I like the '97s better." Seysses was in the middle of racking his '99s for the second time in mid-November, so a few cuvees were tricky to taste.

The past three vintages have brought the highest grape sugars to date at this domain, with 1998 just a hair behind 1997 and 1999, according to vineyard manager Christophe Morin. "Making good wines in 1998 required good viticulture and good vinification," noted Morin. "We needed to remove the burnt grapes with a separate pass through the vines around September 10." "Then we destemmed certain less-ripe parcels to avoid getting a green taste in the wines." Because the grapes came in cool, the domain was able to do its normal four or five days of cold maceration prior to the onset of the fermentations. The Dujac '98s are more powerful and voluminous wines than the '97s, noted Morin, adding that they are a bit rounder and more concentrated than the estate's '96s. My tasting notes on the Dujac '97s appeared in Issue 83.