1987 Bonnes Mares

The Bonnes Mares would be very good if it were judged as a Premier Cru, but it is one of the great Grands Crus of Burgundy and should have more complexity and flavor dimension. The wine has moderate ripeness and a soft finish. Someone needs to give Monsieur Moine a heart-to-heart talk about the dangers of excessive filtration. I am not against filtration, as it is sometimes necessary. In many vintages where the wines fail to fall brilliant naturally, they cannot be put in the bottle cloudy, and therefore must be filtered. Excessive filtration, however, troubles me greatly. Pinot Noir, given its fragility and intrinsic delicacy, cannot tolerate a vigorous filtration. Daniel Moine's 1987s showed much more depth and ripeness from cask. While he has turned out good to very good wines in 1987, all of them taste as if they have been overfiltered.