1997 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

I came away feeling that Girardin white wines offer more personality than his very good reds, but then Girardin says his '97 reds, which I hope to taste next fall, are his best yet, due to several changes in vinification. Still, he admits, quality was more even among white wines in 1997. With the '97 harvest, Girardin used a gentler pneumatic press for his entire crop, and thus could do a shorter settling of the must barely six hours. The wines are aged in one third new oak, and are racked only prior to bottling. "The grapes were green in '96 and yellow in '97, but there was not a big difference in sugar levels," Girardin explains. "Still, the maturity of both the skins and the pulp was more advanced in '97." The handful of '96s I was able to taste showed more structure than the '97s; they were in a distinctly drier style but were consistently excellent. For a negociant who arrived late on the scene, Girardin offers an exciting range of white wines; in fact, he has no less than 40 premier cru cuvees in '97, including reds and whites. Like a number of new fellow negociants he assembles several of his cuvees from small lots from several growers for example, he has a ten barrel lot of 1997 Meursault Perrieres that includes five different sources. I limited my tastings to the wines of Meursault, Puligny and Chassagne; Girardin also offers a number of white wines from Santenay and Savigny les Beaune. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; some cuvees also imported by Eric Solomon/European Cellars, New York, NY under the Baron de la Charriere label)