2020 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru

"It was an early season," head winemaker Nadine Gublin told me, once I have navigated my way through the thick fog and omnipresent roadworks surrounding their winery in Meursault. "We did a green harvest for the Chardonnay - the first time - in order to control the yield. We began to pick on 29 August and finished on 12-13 September. We commenced with the Chardonnay and then the Pinot Noir. It was sunny, dry but the big surprise was that despite there being no rain, the vintage was generous for Chardonnay. Pinot Noir was approximately the same as in 2017 and perhaps the variety is more sensitive to conditions than Chardonnay. Vinification was simple due to the healthiness of the grapes, the good level of sugar and the good tartaric levels. This was very important. The hot weather burned the malic acid at the end of August so the tartaric was crucial. The malolactic was done by May/June 2019 after which the alcohol was between 13.5% and 13.8% and the levels of total acidity around 3.80gm/L, pH 3.40-3.50. We will begin the bottling the reds in February up until July 2020."

Winemaker Nadine Gublin told me that she’s agreeably surprised by the aromatic maturity and balance of the estate’s 2017 white wines, noting that they have force and length but that “you don’t feel the alcohol.” She added that it was a hot, early year [the estate brought in its Chardonnay beginning on August 29] and that grape sugars were between 13% and 14%. But, as is often the case in Domaine Prieur’s cold cellar, the ‘17s were evolving at a snail’s pace and were not yet available for tasting at the beginning of June: four wines were in the middle of their malolactic fermentations and the others hadn’t started yet.

So I tasted the ‘16s, only a few of which I had been able to sample from barrel in the late spring of 2017. This later harvest (September 23 through 29 for the Chardonnay here) yielded wines with moderate alcohol levels, and Gublin was still in the process of bottling them at the beginning of June. “I’m just now finding the structure and a point of salinity in the wines,” said Gublin, who insisted that “even the frosted wines show finesse.” She considers 2016 to be a white wine vintage for medium-term drinking, noting that the 2017s are richer and more structured. “But the first 2016s to be bottled are still fruity and pleasurable, and not closing up, which is a positive point for the moment,” she added. I should note that Gublin considers 2016 "a truly great vintage for the estate's reds."

I focused on the 2015s in bottle during my visit to Domaine Prieur as only a handful of the estate's ‘16s had finished their malolactic fermentations. The '16s had not yet been racked and were holding a lot of carbonic gas, which winemaker Nadine Gublin noted is constructive for protecting the wines. She told me that they gained in density and aromatic intensity during the malos and that they were previously too tight and linear.

The alcoholic fermentations were easy in 2016 and the wines finished very dry, at around one gram per liter, Gublin told me, adding that the ‘15s finished with more like 1.5 to 2 grams. The fruit was picked mostly with potential alcohol at 12.5% or higher and some cuvées were chaptalized lightly. Although crop levels were seriously affected by frost in ’16, Domaine Prieur made all of their cuvées, some of them in tiny quantities. Incidentally, at the time of my visit, the estate was expecting a full crop in 2017 following years of shortages.

Domaine Prieur started harvesting their Chardonnay vineyards in 2015 on September 3, after there was "just enough rain on August 31 to wet the dust," in the words of estate director Edouard Labruyère, whose family led the group that purchased Domaine Prieur in 2008. This sunny growing season yielded grapes with very low levels of malic acidity and wines with 12.7% to 13.5% natural alcohol. Labruyère told me that he finds the salinity of 2003 in the young '15s and believes that the wines will be accessible in their youth but will need some time to express their terroir. "It's not a classical vintage," he summarized, "but it's a lovely introduction to our wines."

“Two thousand fifteen was not an extreme vintage,” said enologist Nadine Gublin. “August was mostly temperate, with well-timed rains. Obviously it was a very sunny year but August recalibrated things.” And yields were mostly under 30 hectoliters per hectare, she added, due in part to the lingering effects of the hailstorm in 2014. Domaine Prieur harvested its Chardonnay vineyards in 2015 between September 3 and 7, with none of them as high as 14% potential alcohol, Gublin added. There was no chaptalization or acidification and the post-malo wines had acidity levels between 3.5 and 3.6 grams per liter, with pHs normally in the 3.45 to 3.5 range. Most of the malolactic fermentations took place in May but a few wines had not yet finished by the time of my visit.

Incidentally, owner Edouard Labruyère reported that the terrible frost in late April virtually wiped out the potential 2016 crop in the following vineyards: Chevalier-Montrachet, Montrachet, Echézeaux, Musigny, Meursault Clos de Mazeray, Beaune Grèves Blanc and Meursault Santenots. “Our vineyard manager told me he's never seen it as bad in 35 years,” said Labruyère. “The non-impacted vines are growing like crazy but without fruit. The harvest may be like Sauternes, requiring three to five passes through the affected vines.”

“A great white wine vintage, powerfully marked by terroir” is the way enologist Nadine Gublin described the estate’s 2014s. “The wines have great energy and purity, like the juicier 2002s. The ‘14s are in the top quality category with the 2010s. Actually, they're a bit more enveloping than the 2010s, which were dominated by their acidity early on. The '14s have more texture.” She went on: “It’s a balanced vintage with moderate alcohol and good acidity; the wines have finesse and elegance and they have really blossomed during their élevage. They have kept a lot of their primary side and should age well."

For his part, owner Edouard Labruyère believes that the ‘14s are “to drink now or in ten years.” Acidity levels in 2014 are typically in the 3.9 to 4.0 grams-per-liter range. About half of the 2014s were bottled in April and May; I tasted the rest of them from tank, where they were being prepared for bottling at the end of June.

Owner Edouard Labruyère described 2014 as a year with “catastrophic quantities, even less fruit than in 2013. Meursault got the worst of the hail, but Beaune was terrible too.” Quality was another matter: “It was perfect for the white wines. They have density and finesse and very good balance.” My reviews of the '14s will have to wait until next year, however, as they were just beginning their malolactic fermentations at the beginning of June.

Domaine Prieur’s top 2013s have turned out very well, although a few wines were still in cuve at the time of my visit. Enologist Nadine Gublin told me they have as much acidity as the 2010s; in fact, she described the ‘13s as “perhaps a small 2010." She did not chaptalize the wines as she wanted to privilege the fruit. And she noted that “you don’t need to stir the lees if you do a long élevage, as we do here," not to mention that she did not want to get oxidative aromas. She added that the 2013s showed a lot of surmaturité at the outset but that the wines are purer and more terroir-specific after the malos. “It was a pleasant surprise to find the minerality,” she said.

As is often the case in this very cold cellar, the 2013 white wines had not finished their malolactic fermentations at the time of my late spring visit; in fact, this time they hadn't started."The further we go in organic viticulture, the longer the malos take," observed owner Edouard Labruyere.Yields on the Cote de Beaune were virtually as low in 2013 as they were in 2012, he added:there will be no Volnay Clos des Santenots or Champans in '13, and the estate lost 100% of the fruit from its recently purchased Pommard Charmots vines."But 2013 was really a healthy year for us except for the hailstorm," Labruyere summarized.My coverage of Domaine Jacques Prieur in this issue focuses on the 2012s, which I did not report on from barrel a year ago due to late malos.The estate's average yield for chardonnay was just 14 hectoliters per hectare, according to Labruyere."We experienced everything in 2012:frost, rain, mildew, hail storms, grapes burned by the sun on July 21," he told me, "but the vintage was a pleasant surprise at the end due to the tiny yields.We were worried at the beginning about the balance of the wines but did no chaptalization or correction of acidity."The finished wines have healthy acidity in the 4.2 grams-per-liter range.Winemaker Nadine Gublin has not practiced batonnage since vintage 2008.Most of the 2012s were bottled just a couple weeks before my visit, but I tasted the last four wines from barrel or cuve.As Domaine Prieur bottles their wines with about 45 parts per million of free sulfur, some of the 2012s were quite tight, but their often high acidity was nicely counterpointed by residual sugar averaging two grams per liter. Also recommended:2012 Beaune Greves (86).

I should have known that the 2012 malos had barely started in this cold cellar at the beginning of June, because they had also been late in '11, '10 and '09.As the new crop of wines was impossible to sample, I tasted through the 2011s, with the last few wines still in barrel.Consulting winemaker Nadine Gublin noted that there wasn't a lot of malic acidity in 2011 but that the level of tartaric was healthy, so the wines didn't change much during the secondary fermentations.The estate-wide average yield was just 28 hectoliters per hectare, but more like 33 to 35 for chardonnay.Potential alcohol levels, according to Gublin, were in the high 13% to 13.5% range and no chaptalization or acidification was done.Gublin describes the '11s as precise, classic, easily digestible wines with good finishing minerality."They gained in personality from their long elevage and will be much easier to enjoy early than the 2010s due to their lower acidity."There has been no stirring of the lees for the white wines here since 2008.Gublin told me that the last year in which there were problems with premature oxidation here was 2002, and that resulted from bottling the wines with too much dissolved oxygen.

"Two thousand eleven was my first vintage when I really didn't know when to pick," said consulting winemaker Nadine Gublin, referring to the precocious vegetative cycle. "The growing season was really easy for the vines due to the dry spring. "At the end of August and beginning of September (the domain picked from August 30 through September 12) "we wanted to wait but really couldn't." Gublin retained more of the lees than usual "to keep the wines in reduction." As is often the case in this cold cellar, the malos even in 2011 were very late and I will have to wait until next year to report on these wines from the bottle. The 2010s, which were similarly going through their secondary fermentations at the time of my visit last year, were also being bottled very late: four wines had just been finished several days before my visit (but note that the samples I tried had been taken from tank just before the mise), and the big boys were slated to be bottled in late June and early July. "This vintage is a revelation," said Gublin. "We had no idea about the wines before the malos finished last summer and early fall." Natural acidity levels were very healthy in 2010 and grape sugars were high. "The low yields saved the vintage," added Gublin, noting that overall production was nearly 60% lower than that of the previous year. Gublin was bottling the wines with plenty of CO2, "otherwise they could appear heavy with all that dry extract. The last vintage with tiny grapes like this was 1995, but that year was hotter and there was more surmaturite."

The beginning of June was too early to venture judgments on this estate's 2010 white wines, as none of the malolactic fermentations had finished and some hadn't even started. "There was lots more malic acidity than in 2009," noted consulting winemaker Nadine Gublin. "The wines are very delicate and we didn't want to do anything that risks losing finesse. For example, we did not do any lees stirring." Gublin was not the only winemaker to tell me that the 2009s benefited from the long, cold winter of 2009/2010. "The wines found more structure after the malos," she said. "Before that, they were too facile, too varietal." At the beginning the estate thought they'd be bottling these wines early but in the end they did their normal long aging on the lees.

Consulting winemaker Nadine Gublin told me she did almost no stirring of the lees in 2009 as the fruit was already rich enough and acidity was low. She did very little debourbage, intentionally bringing a lot of lees into the barrel. My notes below are limited to those cuvees that had finished their malolactic fermentation by the time of my late May visit. The Prieur 2008s were even slower to complete their malos (I only offered a note on one wine in Issue 146) and late to be bottled as well. In fact, only three of them were finished by the end of May; the rest were slated for a late June bottling. The 2008s, said Gublin, were very aromatic from the outset owing to a surmaturite character that came from an element of noble rot. The wines are high in all the major technical components, with alcohol ranging from 13.5% to 14.5%, acidity in the 4.5 to 4.6 g/l range, and residual sugar between two and three grams in most wines. A few of them struck me as a bit extreme. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY) Also recommended: Meursault Clos de Mazeray (86).

Consulting winemaker Nadine Gublin underscored what a number of her colleagues elsewhere on the Cote de Beaune told me at the end of May: "In 2007 it was important to be patient, both in terms of harvest dates and aging the wines in barrel. The wines were severe at the beginning, and they needed a long time on the lees to get flavor and aromatic character." In 2008, Domaine Prieur started picking on September 28, beginning with pinot noir and then bringing in the chardonnay virtually in two days. "There was a lot of noble rot and the sugars were rising quickly," noted Gublin. "The fruit wasn't ripe on September 23, but sugars were very high by October 1, and in some cases too high." Only the Corton-Charlemagne had finished its malolactic fermentation at the time of my visit, so I will wait to taste the 2008s in finished form next year. However, my early look at the new collection suggests that the Meursault Charmes and Perrieres are particularly strong, and that the Beaune Champs-Pimont will be very successful too. Incidentally, Gublin credits chef de culture Daniel Gaudifroy for facilitating the estate's transition to organic viticulture (the estate's white wines have been organic since 2000), which she believes has improved the wines. "Our Chevalier-Montrachet used to be too facile and exotic," she told me, "but especially since 2002 it shows more precision and finesse."

This estate picked pinot very early, beginning on September 4, and then waited until September 10 to start harvesting chardonnay (the Corton-Charlemagne was brought in on September 15, and the Chevalier-Montrachet on the 17th). No chaptalization was done, but acidity levels were quite firm, said Martin Prieur, and the wines have real bite. When I asked enologist Nadine Gublin to compare the '07s to the estate's '04, she responded that the '07s will show more minerality and won't have the exotic quality of some of the '04s, which she said featured "some surmaturite, and a greater range of ripeness."

According to enologist Nadine Gublin, the chardonnay grapes in 2006 were not ripe as of September 10, and the estate waited. They ultimately began on the 20th and picked all the chardonnay in just three days, as the grapes turned golden in a hurry. Grape sugars went up quickly, said Gublin, with the fruit coming in at 13% to 14.5% potential alcohol, or about the same as the previous year. "There was a bit of noble rot," said Gublin, "but it was more a matter of surmaturite." Note that most of the 2006s were at the tail end of their malolactic fermentations, or had just finished. The Corton-Charlemagne, though, was barely halfway through its secondary fermentation. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY) Also recommended: Meursault Clos de Mazeray (86).

According to enologist Nadine Gublin, the chardonnay grapes in 2006 were not ripe as of September 10, and the estate waited. They ultimately began on the 20th and picked all the chardonnay in just three days, as the grapes turned golden in a hurry. Grape sugars went up quickly, said Gublin, with the fruit coming in at 13% to 14.5% potential alcohol, or about the same as the previous year. "There was a bit of noble rot," said Gublin, "but it was more a matter of surmaturite." Note that most of the 2006s were at the tail end of their malolactic fermentations, or had just finished. The Corton-Charlemagne, though, was barely halfway through its secondary fermentation. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY) Also recommended: Meursault Clos de Mazeray (86).

Martin Prieur considers 2004 one of the estate's "great white wine years, along with 1992."Vintage 2005, he went on, saw a perfect, easy harvest with no damaged grapes."The reds have great density, like the 1990s, but we were less impressed by the whites at the beginning, probably because we loved the 2004s.In fact, it's still easier to taste the 2004s now, so it's very early to make a judgment on the 2005s."Potential alcohols were in the very high 13.5% to 14.3% range in 2005, and the team has done much less stirring of the lees this year.I provide notes below on only those wines that had finished their malolactic fermentations when I visited the estate.A few samples, though, still had a bit of sugar to burn through.Incidentally, a few of the 2004s I tasted in early June were still in barrel.

Other wines tasted: 2004 Meursault Santenots*.

Martin Prieur describes 2004 as "a vintage with a lot of purity and fruit, creamy like 2000 but with more material, more density." Co-manager Bertrand Devillard believes that it's a great vintage for Burgundy's white wines, "like a crisper version of 1992," but more difficult in pinot noir due to the August hailstorm and the large size of the crop. Domaine Prieur always harvests very late, and the 2004 whites were not chaptalized. As always, tasting the young wines here was an adventure, as the malos in this very cold cellar are normally late. Incidentally, more new oak than usual was used in 2003 "to give more backbone to the wines," according to Prieur. (W. J. Deutsch & Sons, White Plains, NY) Also tasted: Meursault Santenots*.

The winemaking team at Domaine Prieur acidified their very rich 2003s twice during the fermentations. Due to the very thick juice (the lees were almost mustard-yellow in color, noted Martin Prieur), the estate did a full 24-hour settling of the must, and then less batonnage than usual. I have limited my notes below to the 2003s that were at least nearly through their malolactic fermentations (the secondary fermentations are typically late to finish in this deep, very cold cellar). Sugar levels were a solid 14% for the Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Combettes but more like 13. 5% for the Meursault Perrieres. Interestingly, enologist Nadine Gublin maintains, as do a number of her colleagues, that there's very little oxidizable material in the 2003s, and that the wines may surprise with their longevity. The estate's 2002s, a few of which did not finish their malolactic fermentations until September of 2003, have turned out impressively. (W. J. Deutsch & Sons, White Plains NY

The winemaking team at Domaine Prieur acidified their very rich 2003s twice during the fermentations. Due to the very thick juice (the lees were almost mustard-yellow in color, noted Martin Prieur), the estate did a full 24-hour settling of the must, and then less batonnage than usual. I have limited my notes below to the 2003s that were at least nearly through their malolactic fermentations (the secondary fermentations are typically late to finish in this deep, very cold cellar). Sugar levels were a solid 14% for the Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Combettes but more like 13. 5% for the Meursault Perrieres. Interestingly, enologist Nadine Gublin maintains, as do a number of her colleagues, that there's very little oxidizable material in the 2003s, and that the wines may surprise with their longevity. The estate's 2002s, a few of which did not finish their malolactic fermentations until September of 2003, have turned out impressively. (W. J. Deutsch & Sons, White Plains NY

In general, the 2002s are not overripe, Martin Prieur maintained, but there was a big decline in malic acidity around September 14 and 15, as the grapes ripened rapidly from the wind and sun. Crop levels were down from those of the previous year: in the 35 hectoliters-per-hectare range for the grand crus in 2002. A few of Domaine Prieur's 2001s were still in tank awaiting the bottling at the beginning of June. This is not at all a fragile year," pointed out enologist Nadine Gublin. The 2001 white wines may not be quite as pure as the 2000s, but they are more vibrant and more dense, with greater aging potential." Still, she added, the uneven growing season required a lot of work in the vines, and ripening was irregular, even within the same grape clusters.

Martin Prieur told me that 2000 is purer than 2001 because 2001 is "perhaps too ripe and the fruit was not quite as healthy and certainly not as uniform in quality. We also had a few of our Meursault vineyards touched by the hail that hit Volnay. Sugars ranged from 12.5 to 13.8%." I did not find the quality of 2001 to be substantially inferior to the Prieur 2000s across the board however though I would agree with him that chez Prieur though, '99 is better than 2000 and 2000 is slightly better than 2001. There is a glaring exception to this though as the quality of the 2001 Corton-Charlemagne is nothing short of stellar. I tasted the wines in March just before they were to be bottled; the Clos de Mazeray and the Feguine had just been bottled. The 2001s will be bottled earlier than either the 2000s or the �99s as the 2000s were not bottled until May and the �99s until July. W.J Deutsch Sons, White Plains, NY).

In general, the 2002s are not overripe, Martin Prieur maintained, but there was a big decline in malic acidity around September 14 and 15, as the grapes ripened rapidly from the wind and sun. Crop levels were down from those of the previous year: in the 35 hectoliters-per-hectare range for the grand crus in 2002. A few of Domaine Prieur's 2001s were still in tank awaiting the bottling at the beginning of June. This is not at all a fragile year," pointed out enologist Nadine Gublin. The 2001 white wines may not be quite as pure as the 2000s, but they are more vibrant and more dense, with greater aging potential." Still, she added, the uneven growing season required a lot of work in the vines, and ripening was irregular, even within the same grape clusters.

The grapes were healthier in both 1999 and 2000 than in 2001, admitted Martin Prieur, but a severe green harvest resulted in a smaller crop in the most recent vintage. In 2001 we had a bit of rot, with the result that the fruit was more fragile," he said. Although the pinot noir had no rot, in chardonnay we had everything from green to rotten grapes. We were pulling leaves until just four or five days before the harvest in order to open up the fruit to the sun and dry out the grapes." Grape sugars were higher in 2000 than in 2001, said Prieur, who noted that this was because the domain harvested especially late in 2000. Enologist Nadine Gublin described the aromas in 2001 as heavier due to the fragility of the grapes. At the time of my visit, she planned to rack a number of wines only prior to the bottling, and noted that the juice aging in new barrels was showing very little reduction.

Martin Prieur told me that 2000 is purer than 2001 because 2001 is "perhaps too ripe and the fruit was not quite as healthy and certainly not as uniform in quality. We also had a few of our Meursault vineyards touched by the hail that hit Volnay. Sugars ranged from 12.5 to 13.8%." I did not find the quality of 2001 to be substantially inferior to the Prieur 2000s across the board however though I would agree with him that chez Prieur though, '99 is better than 2000 and 2000 is slightly better than 2001. There is a glaring exception to this though as the quality of the 2001 Corton-Charlemagne is nothing short of stellar. I tasted the wines in March just before they were to be bottled; the Clos de Mazeray and the Feguine had just been bottled. The 2001s will be bottled earlier than either the 2000s or the �99s as the 2000s were not bottled until May and the �99s until July. W.J Deutsch Sons, White Plains, NY).

The grapes were healthier in both 1999 and 2000 than in 2001, admitted Martin Prieur, but a severe green harvest resulted in a smaller crop in the most recent vintage. In 2001 we had a bit of rot, with the result that the fruit was more fragile," he said. Although the pinot noir had no rot, in chardonnay we had everything from green to rotten grapes. We were pulling leaves until just four or five days before the harvest in order to open up the fruit to the sun and dry out the grapes." Grape sugars were higher in 2000 than in 2001, said Prieur, who noted that this was because the domain harvested especially late in 2000. Enologist Nadine Gublin described the aromas in 2001 as heavier due to the fragility of the grapes. At the time of my visit, she planned to rack a number of wines only prior to the bottling, and noted that the juice aging in new barrels was showing very little reduction.

"The 2000s are rather like the '92s, but with a bit more botrytis," says Martin Prieur. They began with a bit more sugar than did the '99s, and convey less of an impression of excessive yields (the estate did a more severe green harvest in 2000); after the malos, they have about the same acidity as the earlier vintage, he added. Prieur describes the '99s as "very austere," noting that more batonnage was carried out in '99 for this reason and because the wines were slower to open. "Vintage 2000, in contrast, has more charm, more fruit; it more Burgundian," he says simply. Several of the '99s had been bottled a month prior to my visit, after having remained on their lees until being assembled for the mise but a few were still awaiting bottling in early June. The Meursault Perrieres and the estate's three grand crus are aged in 100% new oak.

"The 2000s are rather like the '92s, but with a bit more botrytis," says Martin Prieur. They began with a bit more sugar than did the '99s, and convey less of an impression of excessive yields (the estate did a more severe green harvest in 2000); after the malos, they have about the same acidity as the earlier vintage, he added. Prieur describes the '99s as "very austere," noting that more batonnage was carried out in '99 for this reason and because the wines were slower to open. "Vintage 2000, in contrast, has more charm, more fruit; it more Burgundian," he says simply. Several of the '99s had been bottled a month prior to my visit, after having remained on their lees until being assembled for the mise but a few were still awaiting bottling in early June. The Meursault Perrieres and the estate's three grand crus are aged in 100% new oak.

There was no blockage of grape maturity during the heat of August '99, thanks to healthy leaves that nourished the fruit, enologist Nadine Gublin told me at the end of June. Grape sugars were in the healthy 12.5%-13.5% range, thus avoiding the excesses of '98, and those wines closer to 12.5% were chaptalized by 0.5% to 0.8%. Most of the estate chardonnay was brought in on the early side, while some of the pinot noir was picked after mid-harvest rains. (Domaine Prieur used a vibrating table to dry the pinot grapes, and to eliminate less-than-ideal berries.) Acidity levels of the chardonnay were average, but because much of the acidity was of the tartaric persuasion, the wines should turn out fresh and firm. The domain was looking forward to bottling the '99s with a gentler gravity filtration system. A few of the wines still had some unfermented sugar at the end of June, but the malos were just about finished. The top Prieur '98s showed extremely well on my recent visit.

There was no blockage of grape maturity during the heat of August '99, thanks to healthy leaves that nourished the fruit, enologist Nadine Gublin told me at the end of June. Grape sugars were in the healthy 12.5%-13.5% range, thus avoiding the excesses of '98, and those wines closer to 12.5% were chaptalized by 0.5% to 0.8%. Most of the estate chardonnay was brought in on the early side, while some of the pinot noir was picked after mid-harvest rains. (Domaine Prieur used a vibrating table to dry the pinot grapes, and to eliminate less-than-ideal berries.) Acidity levels of the chardonnay were average, but because much of the acidity was of the tartaric persuasion, the wines should turn out fresh and firm. The domain was looking forward to bottling the '99s with a gentler gravity filtration system. A few of the wines still had some unfermented sugar at the end of June, but the malos were just about finished. The top Prieur '98s showed extremely well on my recent visit.

The '98 reds are coming out well, says enologist Nadine Gublin, but the whites are developing slowly. They still need to be enriched by batonnage she adds, and in any event are at widely varying stages of their secondary fermentations. Only the Chevalier-Montrachet and the Corton-Charlemagne were chaptalized; the rest of the '98s are between 12.8% and 13.2% alcohol, natural. The grapes in '98 were healthy enough, says Martin Prieur, and had better acidity than, for example, the '94s, which were a bit hollow by comparison. "The problem with the rains of '98 was dilution more than rot," noted Prieur. Only a few of the '98s were tastable at the end of May. Long lees work following the '97 harvest, including substantial batonnage following the end of the malolactic fermentations, led to wines with more freshness in the mouth, as well as length. Sugar levels were very high: between 13% and 14.5%.

The biggest problem with 1997 was that much of the chardonnay was harvested when the ambient temperatures were high, said Martin Prieur, adding that this domain waited until a week after the ban de vendange to pick chardonnay grapes. "With reds it was more important to pick early, to retain freshness." Still, Prieur adds, the '97 whites are much fresher than the '94s: they have been much more resistant to oxidation in barrel and seem far less fragile. They were also a bit tricky to taste, as a few cuvees still had four or five grams of unfermented sugar. The Prieur '96s, some of which had been bottled less than two months prior to my visit, are altogether more structured, drier wines (they typically finished with barely one gram per liter residual sugar, vs. 1.5 to 2 for those '97s that have completed their primary fermentations). They will require a good seven or eight years of bottle aging.

The biggest problem with 1997 was that much of the chardonnay was harvested when the ambient temperatures were high, said Martin Prieur, adding that this domain waited until a week after the ban de vendange to pick chardonnay grapes. "With reds it was more important to pick early, to retain freshness." Still, Prieur adds, the '97 whites are much fresher than the '94s: they have been much more resistant to oxidation in barrel and seem far less fragile. They were also a bit tricky to taste, as a few cuvees still had four or five grams of unfermented sugar. The Prieur '96s, some of which had been bottled less than two months prior to my visit, are altogether more structured, drier wines (they typically finished with barely one gram per liter residual sugar, vs. 1.5 to 2 for those '97s that have completed their primary fermentations). They will require a good seven or eight years of bottle aging.