1998 Nuits Saint-Georges Village

Christian Gouges describes his '98s this way: "Very pinot noir, very agreeable, very expressive of terroir. Because the malos took a long time, they gave the wines gras and roundness." The August heat saved the vintage, Gouges adds, allowing the grapes to reach about 12% potential alcohol. And the thick-skinned grapes were able to resist rot during the pre-harvest rain. Gouges did "a minimum of vinification," avoiding overextraction, which he believes would have been especially dangerous in '98. The malolactic fermentations did not finish until the end of August, although Gouges racked the wines last spring (keeping the lees), explaining that he finds that he loses verve more if he racks the wines when the ambient temperature is warm. All of the '98s showed some signs of reduction in November; their fruit flavors should be further sweetened by the racking done just prior to bottling. Gouges pointed out that he has benefitted from the work of his father, who was widely criticized for his wines in the late '70s and early '80s but who had the courage and foresight to replant his vines. Gouges is now profiting from this work, and his wines have been among the finest, most complete examples of Nuits-Saint-Georges since the early '90s. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)