1998 Volnay Les Fremiets 1er Cru

Henri Boillot is enamored with the '99 reds, despite the high yields, which averaged 46 hectoliters per hectare, compared to 29 in '98. "The most important thing is the thicker skins, which gave more concentrated color, tannins and acidity. The wines are more massive than the '98s but still quite elegant." The vintage is especially strong in Volnay, which got a bit less rain than Pommard, he added. In addition, some early hail gave a natural claircissage in Volnay. The '99 fruit had slightly higher sugars and total acidity than in '98, according to Boillot, who harvested on the early side. Boillot bottled his '98s in December of '99, leaving the wines on the lees without racking until the assemblage He expressed the opinion that many '98s from the Cote de Beaune, like the '95s, dried out to varying degrees in barrel because they were bottled too late. "Nineteen ninety-eight is a mid-term ager, like '97," said Boillot, "but the '98s have more material and acidity than the '97s." In both years, Boillot has produced concentrated, sappy wines that combine unusual density for the Cote de Beaune with noteworthy precision of flavor. Since Boillot added a triage table in '95 (he actually brings the table out into the vines), he has bottled his red wines without fining or filtration. In recent years he has also lengthened all the stages of vinification, including the time the wines spend on their skins after the sugars have been fermented. Boillot makes a number of white wines under his negociant label Maison Henri Boillot, but all of his reds are domain bottlings. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)