1997 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru

Ghislaine Barthod brought in another small crop in '98, with yields in the 24 to 30 hectoliters-per-hectare range, following an average of 32 h/h in '97. She describes the new vintage as possessing good freshness of fruit-"like the '88s, but less austere." After having put her wines back on their lees after the late summer racking, "now we don't have the impression of hard tannins," she says. The Barthod '97s have turned out nicely. These wines, notes Ghislaine, suffered from the first racking (prior to the '98 harvest), and needed a long levage "in order to rediscover their flesh." The premier crus were bottled last May and June, later than most '97s.

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.