about 10% in their other Marsannay vineyards. Brun compares the Clair '00s to their '97s but with better concentration. At present, he believes they will bottle in the spring but if the winter is cold, the mise may be delayed a month or so. The thinking is that the '00s could use a bit more flesh and thus they would prefer to allow the new wine to rest on its lees as long as possible; the risk is of course that with a relatively tender vintage such as '00, that the wines could dry out if left too long in cask. As I mentioned in Issue 1, the Clair style is not for those who prefer to drink their Burgundies young and they are certainly not made in the so-called new world style of fat, ripe fruit and lots of oak. The wines demand involvement from those who drink them; in short, they are an intellectual style of burgundy rather than a hedonistic one. That said, the 2000's here are relatively forward as young Clair wines go and thus it will probably not be necessary to wait the seemingly obligatory decade to enjoy them. Note: also from 40 year old vines This shares the Petite-Chapelle's purity of fruit with equally complex, elegant fruit and flavors with better density and length. An excellent wine in the context of the vintage.
(hide)
