1996 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru

As at so many other estates, the '97s evolved awkwardly and were difficult to judge during their first months in barrel, according to Ghislaine Barthod. They were a bit wimpy at the outset, she explains, but are now showing more backbone. With grape sugars in the 12.2%-12.8% range here, the typical '97 was chaptalized barely a half degree. Barthod racked the wines in July, then put them back on their fine lees for some further fattening. They will be bottled earlier than usual, in February and March. Yields were just over 30 hectoliters per hectare in the premier crus, vs. around 40 in '96. The earlier vintage has turned out to be one of the finest from this domaine in recent years, although Barthod notes that the '93s are more profound.

Yields here in '96 and '95 are typical for a quality-conscious Burgundy domain in the waning years of the 21st century: about 30 h/h in '95 and a good 40 to 42 in '96. Ghislaine Barthod describes 1996 as a good vintage, though not in the league of '95 or, especially, '93 at this address. She knocked off a lot of fruit in August in an attempt to ripen the rest. Ultimately, grape sugars were roughly the same as those of the previous year. The '95s here were 100% destemmed, as these small-berried, concentrated grapes already offered plenty of guts. But Barthod left a portion of the stems in '96: the grapes were healthy, she explains, and they needed a bit more structure. Still, she found the tannins rather pronounced in November. She believes that the fining helped to round the tannins of the '95s, so I assume the '96s will be fined as well. Barthod planned to bottle them in March and April, a couple months earlier than usual.