Vintage

1997

Balanced

Frost and a wet flowering, saved by a sunny September

Selectively declared

Winter cold, spring frost on a quarter of the vineyard and a very wet flowering, then a dry, sunny September. Soft, fruit-driven wines for drinking rather than long ageing.

The harvest

Picking began15 September (Vallée de la Marne); 22 September (Côte des Blancs)

Spring frost on nearly a quarter of the vineyard, severe in Verzenay and Verzy. Flowering about three times wetter than normal. Yield about 9,402 kg/ha. Potential alcohol about 10.5 per cent, acidity above 8.5 g/l.

The house has kept its own pace through every vintage, and the cellar still works the way it always has: one press, one tank, one decision at a time.

Everything here is allowed to settle slowly. The wines rest longer than the market asks for, and the family tastes the whole range before anything leaves the cellar.

What follows is written from visits, from bottles opened too early and a few opened at exactly the right moment.

The house has kept its own pace through every vintage, and the cellar still works the way it always has: one press, one tank, one decision at a time.

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