2003 Fixin Hervelets

I have the impression that Laurent's wines have been much more consistent in quality since the 2000 vintage, and his 2003s showed extremely well in November.Laurent was very much in the camp of the late harvesters, as thoroughly ripe phenolic material is crucial to his elevage.Almost all of his wines from the Cote de Nuits came from fruit harvested in September; but even most of his Cote de Beaunes were picked after the refreshing precipitation of August 28.Laurent told me that half of the malos were finished by the time he took possession of the barrels of wine in January and February.In general, those wines that were vinified with whole clusters proceeded more slowly.For those willing to purchase wine from Laurent's early en primeur offering, there are always some serious bargains here:with 2003, Laurent will offer village wines from Gevrey, Chambolle, Volnay and Pommard that consist mainly of declassified premier crus, including old vines from lesser crus-often at opening prices that are barely half as high as his premier crus.As usual, I sampled a boatload of wine here, but not everything. Laurent told me that most of his village wines, plus his premier crus from the Cote de Beaune, were aging in 50% new and 50% one-year-old barrels, while his grand crus were in all new oak.For what it's worth, he noted that Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux and Musigny were his best vineyards in 2003. I should point out that virtually all of Laurent's 2003s will say "Vieilles Vignes" on the label.