| 2003 Burgundy
A lot has been written and will be written about this unique vintage, the vintage of the “canicule”. A lot of it will be from the viewpoint of ignorance with the lack of experience of another vintage quite like this one. Even the older generations (and fathers of the older generations!) do not have experience of this type of vintage. It was the earliest recorded harvest since 1893. This is a vintage as much about yields (lest anyone forget the greatest Pinot Noir vintages are those of low yields and this is a sine qua non of great red Burgundy) as about the extremes of temperature. On the 11th of April a severe frost affected many of the village appellations and some of the great Premier and Grand Cru vineyards, the worst affected communes being Puligny, Meursault and Nuits St-Georges. Many of the Premier Crus in Nuits St-Georges suffered a loss of over 50%. This frost reduced the yields. Then May saw the weather turn warm and fine. Flowering was very early and short and was finished by the end of the month. There was intense heat in June, resulting in a lot ‘millerandage’ which further reduced yields. July and August were very hot and careful vineyard management was essential to cope with these unique conditions. Fortunately less was best in these conditions with few vineyard treatments required for problems more associated with humid conditions.
The crucial decision was when to harvest and every producer has his or her own thoughts and opinions about this crucial factor. This decision should be based on the phenolic maturity (maturity of tannins) of the grapes and not on alcohol or acidity levels. The best producers picked on this basis and this is the crucial factor with the wines which have the required balance and those that do not. In the Cote de Nuits (and some parts of the Cotes de Beaune) most of our producers waited until early September to pick when they had phenolic maturity and also after the vines had been refreshed with some much needed rain and also the temperatures had cooled a little so that the grapes could be picked early in the morning in better, cooler conditions. This is a very quick summary of a very complex vintage as there are, as in every vintage, many complex small details which determine the outcome of the wines. For this one has to trust the producers, their terroirs and their understanding of the terroirs. The complicating factor was the lack of experience in the past of a vintage quite like this and so intelligent, quick responses to the conditions was really critical. Again this goes back to the producers.
It is easy to say, as many wine-writers often do, that 2003 is an “irregular” vintage. Yes we agree but so was 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 and so on. In fact every vintage is irregular and hence why you have to follow the producer. Every region has its share of the great and not so great producers so choice and trust in the producer is crucial. So we talk and refer only about the producers we know and list below.
The wines from 2003 when first tasted early in 2004 were dense, huge and monolithic. As time went on the varietal character and terroir emerged and in our latest tasting of the wines in barrel in December 2004 the wines really started to show well.
Those who thought to bottle early were perhaps erring too much on the safe side. These are wines that needed elevage and had the necessary concentration to handle the normal (or more) time in barrel. In fact most wines needed it. After all these wines were from very low yields not seen for a long time in Burgundy (the producers had no choice in the matter!). After the obsession with the heat and potential high-alcohol of the vintage it is vital not to overlook the sheer natural concentration of these wines. In fact everything was concentrated in the grapes including the acidity thus giving the impression of freshness and energy. We would go as far as to say that most of the wines we have purchased show more energy than wines from so called “fresher” vintages (e.g. 1990, 1989).
This is to do with the wonderfully mature and sophisticated phenolics of this vintage. Some of the domaines below acidified a little but this has not affected the natural balance of the wines as it was done very delicately. A great vintage and one that will need keeping.
The white wines are more problematic. Again the lack of mature phenolics (because of the stress that the Chardonnay vines suffered) was a major problem and the best wines, like the reds, have wonderful natural concentration with the balancing acidity. This again was a question of when the grapes were harvested. Too early and the wines tasted immature with only the alcohol showing (despite it not being high in these wines). The wines picked later with mature phenolics show excellent depth and balance despite the extra richness of the vintage. The best wines will need keeping because of the real density and concentration of fruit although they will be approachable young. The white (and red wines) from the Maconnais and Chalonnais are really quite wonderful despite the nature of this vintage and offer extra-ordinary value for money.
Prices have risen (although not for all wines and in some cases the rises are marginal) for this vintage and this is mainly due to the very low crop levels and the very low quantities produced (in most cases below between only 15 to 25 hectolitres per hectare).
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