1996 Meursault Les Tillets

Javillier describes 1996 as his best vintage yet in terms of the balance and structure of the wines. "The year brought an incredible combination of high grape sugars, high acids and elegant aromas," he notes. "It combines the best traits of 1990 and 1989." Still, he says, the '96s don't yet show the complexity of the '92s "so it not quite a perfect vintage." Batonnage was especially important in a year like '96, says Javillier, because it helped to compensate for the higher acidity levels and lower residual sugar (the wines finished their fermentations with around one gram per liter) of these wines. 1996 is a great vintage, he says, but it will be necessary to wait at least three or four years before pulling corks; impatient drinkers will get less satisfaction from these wines than they would from a weaker year. The late bottled wines in particular are rather austere today, according to Javillier. "One gets the structure now, but not the pleasure." x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D Javillier was enthusiastic over the '97s and described this year as a very good vintage for him. They are flatteur in the best sense of the word, he notes, and will drink well before the '96s. They have good alcoholic richness but are not top heavy, he points out. Like many of his colleagues, he was surprised by how much acidity remained after the malos. Still, this will be a vintage conducive to early bottling. Even the cuvees that will be bottled 18 months after the vintage after spending longer on their lees will probably be kept in tank during the months leading up to the mise. (A Peter Vezan selection; importers include The Henry Wine Group, Benicia, CA and The Wine Company, Minneapolis, MN; also imported by Langdon Shiverick, Chagrin Falls, OH)