1997 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru

With almost yawn-provoking regularity, Lalou Bize-Leroy continues to fashion some of the most extraordinary red wines that can(not) be found in the marketplace. The often extremely backward '98s should offer lucky owners of these wines a long, classic evolution in bottle. Yields in '98 averaged a microscopic 15 hectoliters per hectare, and grape sugars ranged from 12.3% for the Nuits-Saint-Georges Lavieres to 13.2% for the Corton Renardes. Madame Bize believes that the '97 vintage favored the Cote de Beaune, and perhaps '99 as well, but said that in '98 it's hard to choose between the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. As I tasted through the '98s, Bize-Leroy compared the wines in quality to her '90s, "but the '98s are a bit more distinguished." She bottled the '97s in December of '98, and was planning to do the same early bottling for the '98s "if the cellar stays cold."

According to cellarmaster Toto Rageot, yields at this estate were in the very low 17 19 hectoliters per hectare range in 1997, or just a hair higher than those of '95. Grape sugars were high but not excessive and acidity levels were adequate (acids were lower in 1998, noted Rageot). Despite Lalou Bize predilection for finesse and clarity of flavor, few of these '97s required acid adjustment, according to Rageot. These are once again--quelle surprise--among the superstars of the vintage. I was not able to taste the Musigny, as it had recently been bottled.