1997 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er Cru

Etienne Grivot was among the earliest harvesters in Vosne Romanee in '97; his intent was to avoid getting fruit with aromas of surmaturite. "This was a vintage of great ripeness," Grivot explains. "The late pickers risked losing freshness and getting baroque, port like aromas of confiture and pruneaux. There are really two very different schools in '97." Grivot felt that the lighter tannic structure of '97 did not justify a long elevage on the contrary, he vinified his wines to have early appeal. Grivot did not chill his musts in order to do a maceration a froid because he wanted to work with low levels of SO2 ("in a year like '97, sulfur inevitably dries the wines"). Total cuvaison time was thus a bit shorter than normal. The malos took place earlier than usual, and the wines were racked last July. In November, Grivot planned to bottle in January and February, or about three months earlier than he bottled his '96s. "The '97s will be unctuous, charming, sensual wines perfect for the market," he predicts. "But they will always be more marked by the vintage than by the terroir."