1999 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru

Winemaker Jacques Lardiere characterizes the 2000 vintage as "soft, pretty, accessible." He actually increased the percentage of new oak in 2000, though he described this approach as risky. "We use more new oak on a so-so vintage than a rich one. But it to connect the wine's phenols, to keep the wine alive, rather than to add something. We also needed to do longer macerations, typically 26 to 28 days but sometimes longer, and the result was that we got sweeter tannins." Lardiere uses mostly Nevers oak; he finds Allier too strong and believes that this type of oak works better in vintages in which the macerations are short. He told me he did little saignee because Jadot had already eliminated so much less-than-perfect fruit on its table de trie Lardiere, well placed to comment on vintage differences across appellations owing to the great range of wines he makes, feels that 2000 favored the villages of Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin.