1998 Volnay 1er Cru

The Lafarges were able to hold yields to 45 hectoliters per hectare in their premier crus in '99 through extensive green pruning and subsequent green harvesting. Ripening was very homogeneous, Frederic Lafarge told me in November, typically in the 12.0% to 12.3% range; after chaptalization, the finished wines will be between 12.5% and 12.9% alcohol. Lafarge described the '98s as higher in acidity, more powerful vins de garde that are already closing up after the bottling last spring. In '99, the fermentations were hotter and more tumultuous. I found the new vintage less authoritative than the more sharply defined '98s. (A Becky Wasserman Selection, imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Esquin Imports, San Anselmo, CA; and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

Nineteen ninety-eight would have been an exceptional year but for the rain at the beginning of September, Lafarge told me. It was necessary to wait until five days after the ban de vendange for the ground to dry out, and strict selection was required to eliminate rotten and underripe grapes. The result, in his estimation, is a set of wines with very good balance and supple tannins, wines that offer both gras and power: a classic, medium-term ager, to drink after five or six years. (A Becky Wasserman Selection, imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Esquin Imports, San Anselmo, CA; and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)