1999 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

"The '99s are sensual, tactile wines with good volume," says Thierry Matrot. "Some of the premier crus reached 14%. The wines show great aromatic concentration, like the '95s, '89s and '85s, and will really gain from long aging. It was a huge crop, but the wines have the same aging potential as great past small vintages. Compared to '99, the 2000s are more aerienne more delicate, a vintage of medium-term aging. The challenge was to keep the fermentations slow. Still, the malos went very quickly; some were over in January."

Thierry Matrot rates 1999 as very good but not exceptional for chardonnay, a big crop that displays the floral side of '73 along with the ripeness and structure of '90. "We had six weeks of heat during the late summer of '99," he told me. "With plenty of water in the soil, this led to explosive growth." But Matrot described the '99 reds as great: "a huge crop too, but with superb structure and color. My father is in his 60th vintage, and he has never seen pinot of this ripeness and quality at such a high crop level." Matrot, like a few of his colleagues in Meursault, describes the '98s as "too concentrated, and lacking finesse. There was a loss of terroir character, but due to their sound acidity there will also be some spectacular wines ten years down the road." In fact, Matrot added, it was the acidity that ultimately saved the vintage.