1998 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

In her father absence, Boillot's daughter Lydie showed me the white wines of this domain, one of the few addresses I visit twice each year to taste both reds and whites. Lydie described 1998 as a structured vintage featuring very low yields, especially in pinot noir. The wines, she said, were evolving slowly, but it is already clear that they are less rich across the board than the '97s. "They seem higher in acidity and drier than the '97s," she noted. At the time of my visit, some of the whites still had three to five grams per liter of residual sugar. Boillot reportedly did some acidification in both '98 and '97, but unlike in other cellars, any added acids here seem in harmony with the wines. Incidentally, Boillot's Champs-Gain, which I do not normally taste, is a negociant wine, while his Referts includes a percentage of purchased grapes. His Batard comes through an en fermage arrangement.