1997 Puligny-Montrachet

A number of Jobard '98s were still in the early stages of their malolactic fermentations and therefore will require revisiting next year. Jobard describes the '98s as solidly structured wines of good quality; he began harvesting on the late side, just a day before the substantial rain of September 26, maintaining that the grapes weren't really ripe until then. The crop level was barely half of normal. Even in '98, Jobard did not cold settle the juice, nor would he consider blocking a portion of the secondary fermentation. "That wouldn't allow the aromas to express themselves," notes Jobard, who describes acidity levels in both '98 and '97 as "between low and average." Jobard says he also picked later in '97, and was able to get better ripeness without any dangerous loss of acidity.