Harvest 2010
Chers Amis,
Yes I am alive and well and contrary to what you might have hear we have had an EXCELLENT harvest. The upper case is on purpose.
That said for the first time in a long time I had no time to think about writing notes in a timely fashion due both internal and external pressures. Let me give you a quick synopsis and bullet points of the season and why I am finally having a chance to catch my breath.
* The first grapes arrived on September 21 and the last grapes came in on Friday, October 1. In between vineyards that are normally picked first were picked last and every combination in between. For example we picked a parcel of Bourgogne Chardonnay in Puligny on September 30 and October 1 as well as our Fixin on the same days. Normally the Bourgogne is first and the Fixin is last. Both vineyards had normal yields, no rot and golden berries.
* We have NEVER brought in more grapes in so short a time as we did on September 21-22.
* Yields are way down; both in the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune and it is not uncommon by as much as 50%. In the Cote de Beaune the whites were down 20-50% (our Maltroie a bit more than 2 barrels, last year 4 barrels) although there are parcels that had full yields. I was told that a very renowned grower in Volnay who could make 44 barrels from his vineyards, and normally makes 36-37 made perhaps 19!
* A very good winemaker in Pommard that makes Corton Bressands last year made +6 barrels = 105 cases of grapes. This year there were just 31 cases!! = ~ 2 barrels. This is not made up and no exaggeration.
* We were afraid of rot but overall this was not as serious problem as we have had in the past. Yes there was rot but much less than we anticipated. We did clean up the fruit but the rot was at times under the levels of even 2006. It is critically important to remember that Burgundy is rarely consistent. The quality of the fruit can vary form village to village, parcel to parcel. This is the primordial rule of 2010 ESPECIALLY if the grapes were clonal; i.e. big heavy bunches from SO4 and pinot droit versus small bunches from Pinot fin/tordu plants selection massale with small aerated bunches. In the later case one had magnificent grapes albeit at very low yields due to their low weight and quantity.
* Here are my REAL yields on the parcels we own.
Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvee Les Deux Papis: 4 parcels: 24 HL/HA
Puligny Montrachet: 39 HL/HA
Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Las Maltroie: 30 HL/HA
* All of a sudden large and small negociants (especially the small) are asking where can I find my supplies for the year?
* Will the prices “flambe”? Most likely but how much remains to be seen. In any case there will very little 2010 available in 2012.
* It is clear everyone, and I mean everyone overestimated their crop. We all knew that the crop would be lower but no one ever expected this. The mistake is that we looked at the number of bunches and not their weight. Thus not only were the number of bunches reduced but their weight, aka liquid was much less than expected (the skins were thick.) What is interesting is that despite some serious rain we did not get the liquid as we would have logically thought.
* The flowering in June occurred in cold miserable weather leading to a lousy fruit set (this was the major reason why the crop was lower).
* The winter was terribly cold for us and it was especially cold in December before the plants had a chance to have their sap fully descend and go dormant. Thus there was a vine killing cold on the night of December 21, 2009 and this also could have hurt the embryonic buds of 2010.
* Harvest usually follows flowering by 100-105 days putting it at the end of September to the beginning of October. This said there were parcels such as the Bourgogne Chardonnay and Fixin as notes above that flowered later in excellent weather and thus had a full crop.
July was very hot so we caught up but then lost the advantage in August and thus everyone was looking at a September 23-24th start but…..
…… Around 5 PM on Sunday, September 12 a violent thunderstorm along with hail came up from the Cote Chalonnais dumping a great deal of water on the southern part of the Cote de Beaune. This included hail over parts of Santenay. (It is VERY unusual if not unprecedented to have hail this late in the season.) Along with the brief but albeit intense storm was thunder and lightening. This was a wild card that threw us for a real loop. Late in the season thunder can cause the white grapes to turn because their skins are less thick then the pinot and they can burst or break causing rot. (This happened in 2006 on a Friday and by Sunday some parcels were turning forcing everyone to scramble to pick.) This year because the grapes were less advanced it never occurred to me (and I suspect others) that this phenomenon would happen. In brief it did affect the grapes catching many growers by surprise and forcing everyone to move forward their picking date.
Now…… the theory of advancing and the reality of advancing are two different issues. When one has planned for a certain date for months it is hard to get ones pickers and well as all of ones logistics cranked up over night yet this is what we had to do.
* The fermentations went very well; actually quite easily after all the hassles of the growing season and the harvest. The vinifications were a bit bit shorter than normal; on average 10-12 days after 6-7 days of a pre fermentation but overall about as long a time in cuve until they were put in barrel. In other words nothing dramatic.
* The colors are amazing; very dark and the wines are well balanced between the tartric and malic acids. The wines taste good but it is a “winemaker’s year.” Sugars are lower than last year and most people will chaptalize at least .5-1 degree. In other words a fairly typical Burgundy year…. (Whatever that means.)
* The reds are remind me a bit of 2005; structured but balanced with an intense rich fruit. At this early stage lots of black cherry and cassis.
* Final yields have fallen as follows.
Pinot: -35%
Volnay 1er Cru Champans: -40%
Vosne Romanee VV:
Chambolle-Musigny:-40%
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes: -25%
Clos Vougeot: -25%
* We will be tasting many 2010s next week during the Vente des Vins. I will report back.
