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COMMENTS ON THE 2009 BURGUNDY VINTAGE
Winter was the coldest since 1990 : - 5°C for almost 6 weeks
Budbreak was at Easter ie on /around the 15 April followed by rapid growth especially in May with sunny ,bright days with pronounced wind which were redolent of 1996 and 2005 . The last week of April was hot and little rain fell between mid may and end of that month .
No frost was recorded and the vines marched onto flowering in the Côte de Beaune around the weekend of 30 may – 2 june with the Cote de Nuits and Pinot Noirs slightly later . Stormy weather may have disturbed flowering and nights were cool which may have sparked the threat of Powdery mildew
At this time , the Initial predicted Harvest date was the 10TH September
On the 21st may a hailstorm hit Beaune and Savigny while in late May more hail hit Morey St Denis with minor damage in Clos de Beze and southern parts of Gevrey .
June and July were a mixed bag of weather conditions : on 22nd july at 3 am 24°C compared to a few days earlier 10/11° C during the night .We had one weekend with heavy rain on the 13/14 june
August on the whole was sunny and bright with a few showers and exceptional heat between the week of the 17th august with 3 days over 37°C . The weather cooled after that and the last weekend in August was fine and hot .
Some young vines and precocious plots were harvested on 31st August
The first weekend of september was also fine In addition fine sunny warm weather for harvest week of 07/09 Grapes harvested in afternoons should should have been left to cool or cooled down .
For information here are some of our suppliers harvesting dates Some harvesting dates :
BERNARD BONIN 03/09
O LEFLAIVE 05/09
Darviot 10/09
A TESSIER Mar 08/09
HUMBERT 10/09
MILLOT 12/09
ROCH 14/09
Philippe CHAVY 07/09
Many growers reported virtually no rot with some some milleranded berries and volumes were very satisfactory . Alcoholic degrees were naturally high ( a good number of suppliers reported 13.5/14 % natural sugars ) and generally the fruit was phenolically ripe . It was a vintage without any real challenges for the growers since the growing season was clement and as long as a careful eye was kept on the vines and sprays and treatments carried out regularly the growers brought in sound , ripe fruit .
The vintage has yielded white Burgundies which will be ready to drink soon with generous flesh and rich layers . Depending on the harvesting date , some “cuvees” may be on the heavy side with a thick texture . It would seem that the 2009 vintage has produced better red wines . The wines are deep in colour with ripe fruit bouquets and almost luscious velvety textures . They have the extract and body to age but should be ready to drink by 2015 .
COMMENTS ON THE 2008 BURGUNDY VINTAGE
Winter was mild except December with freezing rain .
Easter was remarkably early 22 March with snow and rain but growth did not start then as it usually does . More snow fell on 7th April following a cold week with negative temperatures in the mornings . In general , April was cold and rainy which held back vegetation .
The first 15 days of May were warm and sunny with an almost tropical feel which caused a spurt in vegetation over the weekend of 10/11 may. Fears of mildew/powdery mildew abounded because of variations in temperature . Rainy cool The weekend of 17/18 was rainy and cool followed by rain and occasional thunder during the week of 19 – 23 echoed during the week of 26 – 30 Unstable . Growers apparently not worried about powdery mildew so far ; mildew perhaps
Growers reported a large potential crop especially in Chardonnay
The first 15 days of June were stormy and rainy including a big deluge on Tuesday 10 in the northern Cote de Nuits at Chenove . Pierre DAMOY knows a grower who lost 8 hectares out of 12 in Marsannay .
Temperature variations cause powdery mildew alerts .
Flowering : DARVIOT Chardonnay more or less over weekend 14/15 june Pinots dragging on Didier D Fleur 20th June Sunnier weather from Weds 18 thru Sun 22 Millerand in pinot Cote de Beaune and Nuits
Fine weather but humid until Tuesday 24 then fine , dry warm 28/30°C a Numerous vine leaves turned yellow caused by rain draining iron from the vines .
July : on the evening of Weds 2nd , a massive storm during night caused apparently little damage Amazingly high variations in temp night and day – 9°C then 25° C + … so mildew / odium threat the week of 7 - 11 was sunny but cooler and a rainy weekend followed on 12/13
Huge rainstorm + hail weekend 26/07 Meursault , Volnay midslope and Chorey hit . The vines were not making great progress.
N.B. growers had to spray at just the right time otherwise the rain caused them to have to return to the vineyard in order to maintain cover against mildew etc.
August Véraison just starting 4, 5 , 6 with topsy turvy weather : 22 nd rain all day then week 25 sunny which helped ripening
September was cooler People putting back harvest commencement dates
Wednesday 3 rain followed by heavy rain on Thursday 4 The weekend of 6 / 7 was fine while week 8 -12 was unstable
13 heavy rain all day and night AND FINALLY : 14 – 29 bright , sunny but cool (4 – 5° C at day break ) and Bize blowing
This phenomenon saved the vintage since the alcohol and acidity levels were far from ideal at the beginning of September . the combined effect of the north wind and sun really concentrated the crop .
Harvest dates
Crémant picking started Sat 20 th
V MICHELOT mon 22 / Ph CHAVY Mer 24 / D DARVIOT thurs 25 /
E HUMBERT 25 sept P DAMOY Sat 04 Oct JM MILLOT
Degrees approaching 11 – 11.5 on 23 Sept but witness DARVIOT PERRIN 1ers crus finally 13 – 13.5 Chardonnay as usual accelerates at end of ripening same at SAUZET / A TESSIER /
JM MILLOT Vosne / Cote de Nuits 12° naturel Faulques / Issarts 5% rot healthy grapes
I suspect vast differences in phenolic and alcoholic ripeness especially in Pinot flowering was protracted so millerand grapes next to grapes apparently coloured but few anthocyanes when held up to the light BUT juice quite sweet : later flowering grapes which hadn t fully ripened ?
Differences also in colour of pips and stems .
Humbert said it was important to only leave 6 or 7 bunches to aid ventilation of the fruit and he eliminated 20% of substandard fruit .
Chassagne seems to have produced healthier grapes than Meursault or Pulgny ( influence of more organic growers in Meursault ??)
Yields lower than average Acidites high with PH 3 – 3.2 probably due to low tempratures of the growing season .
The key as in 2007 was to sort and sort unripe and rotten grapes .
The wines in general tasted “chunkily “ with a big splash of malic which didn t undergo malolactic until Spring 09 Indeed , many malolactics dragged on through spring 09 and generally finished early/ late summer .This made the 08 difficult to judge at the outset .However , once they shrugged off their malic cloak it became evident that some concentrated , weighty wines has been made The whites have an almost exotic feel which perhaps originated in the accelerated ripening at the end of the season.
COMMENTS ON THE 2007 BURGUNDY VINTAGE
Winter was mild with a cold snap in mid March ( - 6 ° C) for best part of a week
It reminded me of 1981 when the vines woke up very early and a vicious frost hammered the young shoots during the 3 rd week of April and a record 50% crop was produced : bulk rates were suspended in the Mâconnais . Let’s hope history wont repeat itself
Growing season seemed sluggish until Easter ( 7/8 April ) which unleashed a week of balmy weather ( Friday 13th April : 26° C in Beaune ) and the vines started growing furiously ( Didier DARVIOT : “3 weeks ahead of a normal year “) The entire month of April passed in glorious weather with temperatures over 25° C Needless to say the vines put on an unprecendented spurt of growth causing havoc with the usual timetable of sprays , ploughings and other tasks
For example rubbing out double buds and eliminating suckers is usually never done before the 3rd week of May ; this task commenced before the end of April !!
A thundery spell during the first weekend in May brought hail to St Aubin where the southern part of the vineyards came in for a battering .The first 10 days of that month were cooler with some rain I spotted the a flowering bunch in Vosne Romanée on 7th !! Flower passed end of the 3rd week of May If one applies the 100 day rule : HARVEST KICK OFF 3rd WEEK OF AUGUST and this time on a normal cycle unlike 2003 !
The first 2 weeks of May rainy with some thunder Despite the precipitation the water tables haven’t regenerated Most growers reported pleine fleur between 18th and 23rd May depending on situation and age of vines ; The weather was fine , sunny and hot on the whole ; some zones dragged on . Didier DARVIOT : Pinot Noir flowering happened quickly Chardonnay later and some vineyards appeared to have “coulé”
June : Topsy turvy : An old adage reads “ If rain on St Médard (8th June ) we deplore , expect 40 days more “ ! Well rain was deplored that day but the 11th – St Barnaby - was drier in the afternoon at least put another saying to the test : “ St Barnaby repairs St Médard’s dispair “ Notwithstanding on Sunday 10 a hefty storm hit Chassagne and Beaune ( Belissands and Avaux ) from 12 - 15 June flash storms alternating with bright but humid intervals in afternoons There was risk of mildew and growers couldn’t enter vineyards with tractors to plough because of mud . Growers unsure of outcome and vascillating as to harvest date 15 – 30th / 1st week September
July
Small hail damage in Meursault 1er Crus on Monday 9th
Rain storms virtually every day until 11th July while the waning moon on Thursday 12 july brought more stable weather w/e of 14 sunny and hot as the Tour de France wove its way through the Hautes Cotes via St Aubin and Chagny ! Overall rain and cool temperatures throughout July
August Weekend 4 /5 was extremely hot then a relapse into humid cool conditions ; I tasted Bruno Clavelier’s Corton Rognet grapes and found them to be “ vif “
Weekend 11 12 rain then Week 13 – 17 Cool and damp
Harvest Bans Chablis 01 /08
Saone et Loire : 08 /08
Pouilly Fuissé 15/08
Cote de Beaune Bans 13 th August
Beaujolais 25 /08
Michel ECARD started on Thurs 23 : 11°3 ?? in Peuillets & Narbentons some dry rot tri 30% !
Seems to be big differences between grapes on same bunch AND between different vineyards and growers
Tasting grapes in Puligny Merusault Beaune many pips green and juice on acidic side
HARVEST : DARVIOT Samedi 1 / Sept / CHAVY Merc 29 Aug / HUMBERT Ven 31 Aug DAMOY SAM 8 Sept / ROCH Jeudi 6 Sept / Chr VIOLOT : Lundi 3 Sept
Weekend 25 – 26 Aug fine sunny
September
Fine settled weather during w/o 3 sept 20 – 22 ° sunshine Slight gain from concentration but fin de cycle Necessary to sort Pinots loss of 25 /30 %
B CLAVELIER : Early vines more subject to rot because rain in July weakened skins Hence normally sound vineyards affected 11. 5 - 12 degres Some Rot not serious No anti rot
J marchand 12 a 13 degres Musts clean fresh and balanced treated at right time picked wo 3 sept 10% rot sorted Reported bunches with ripe unripe overripe and dried grapes !! Dupont tiss 11.5 - 12.5 degres little rot sorted new machine that delivers whole grapes to vats not a lot of juice started 3 sept finished 12th sunny No rain since 1 sept
Damoy ripest pips seen started 8 Sept will make a vendanges tardive clos de beze 24 September Detached easily from the pith Very thick skins very good fruit 2002 en + rond
Carence magnesium : rain activates potassium which prevents plant from absorbing magnesium giving Red leaves
Maturity seems to have come very late : the Chardonnays were dragging their feet
Mid August 8 % Alc and high acidity Although it rained on 29th August a fine period then set in until 3 rd week September with little or no rain Concentration helped .
Cote de Beaune reds appear to have suffered most from rot Cote de Nuits less so
There was a high level of malic acidity at the beginning . Tastings of a number of whites after malos seem to confirm a nervosity and perhaps a lack of charm ( 1993 ?)
The fine weather at the end of the growing season definitely helped maturity
The whites are now showing more flesh and weight than during malos and they have a fine beam of acidity with clean , zippy finishes . The terroirs are very well defined .
The reds I have sampled appear clean , round and forward and will probably be ready to drink early since the fruit is very expressive and pure . No one would have thought such tender wines could have been made during the growing season but 2007 has proved again that serious growers can produce sound fruit in adverse vintages and hence good wine
This is not a vintage that will close down for aging like 2005 It will be a crowd pleaser right from the start .
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