1998 Meursault Le Limozin

Jean-Pierre Latour has a promising set of '98s in the works, despite the difficulties of the growing season and subsequent challenges during vinification and elevage. Following careful pressing of the grapes, Latour eliminated most of the bourbes for fear of getting a bad taste in the lees. But the lack of "useful material" in the musts (also due partly to the fact that the September rains washed so much of the wild yeasts off the grape skins) made the alcoholic fermentations an adventure; still, says Latour, the slow fermentations have given the wines more complexity. A few of his '98s finished with about three grams per liter of residual sugar. Latour describes these wines as richer and more complex than the '97s, with good average acidity and healthy pHs. The '97s, in contrast, are more fragile, he says, "but more in texture than in the direction of oxidation." Latour has bottled his wines without filtration since 1994. (A Patrick Lesec selection; importers include Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; Monsieur Touton, New York, NY; The Stacole Company, Boca Raton, FL; and Adventures in Wine, Daly City, CA)