2009 Burgundy
First Report October 2009
Though it is still early days, and we will know a great deal more after the malo-lactic fermentations, it is already clear that 2009 has followed the general run of '9' vintages and is very good indeed. Quite how good few are at this stage prepared to predict, Burgundians being cautious rather than bull-shitters, but a simple look at the weather conditions and the state of the fruit as it was being collected moves me to put 2009 up with 2005 and 1999 as the very best of the last 25 years. It is also quite plentiful, as was 1999.
It has been a splendid summer. I have had more use out of my pool than in all recent years – since I settled in Burgundy in 2004 – combined. Right from the middle of May onwards the sun shone, it was warm though rarely very hot, it was dry without being parched, and these favourable conditions continued through until the end of the harvest and beyond.
Not all was totally perfect. There were May hailstorms variously in Morey-Saint-Denis and the southern end of Gevrey-Chambertin. The southern Mâconnais and the northern Beaujolais were also affected at this time. The flowering in parts of the Côte d'Or was rather drawn out, resulting in the possibility of uneven ripeness at the time of the harvest. (As it turned out, the warm summer, plus judicious green harvesting of the more backward bunches, has reduced this potential problem to a minimum). Half-way through July there was a very wet week-end which gave rise to fears of an attack of mildew and oidium. And the vintage in Chablis, which otherwise had had an almost perfect summer, was interrupted by two days of rain.
But by and large the 2009 weather conditions could hardly have been better. August especially, in contrast to recent years, was magnificent. Remember the old saying 'Août fait le moût' (August makes (creates) the must). September was warm with a drying north wind, keeping up acidity levels which in the light of the fine weather and generous harvest might have begun to sink to levels a bit dangerously low. In fact though these levels are not by any means high, apparently the pHs are quite normal. The fruit was so healthy it was hardly necessary to do a triage.
Naturally, in view of the benign conditions, it was an early harvest. But not dangerously early, as in 2003. Most importantly, the growers could take their time, as it was not too hot. The harvest started towards the end of the first week of September in the Beaujolais, a few days later in the Mâconnais, and as early as that in some vineyards in the Côte d'Or. By September 14th it was fully under way in the Côte de Beaune and even traditional late pickers in the Côte de Nuits such as the Domaine Ponsot were out in their vineyards by the 21st. By October 1st all but some vines in the Hautes Côtes remained unpicked. Chablis, meanwhile, started on September 11th, stopped because of the rain, started again on the 17th and was finished by the 20th.
The red wines have naturally high alcoholic degrees, without being blockbusters. One grower said that was going to be careful about prolonging macerations for fear of creating monsters. Others, worried about the size of the crop, have performed a light saigner to concentrate the must, or where they feared there might be over-ripeness, have made their team perform overtime and finished their harvest in six days rather than ten.
In contrast to 2008 there is little malic acidity, and some think the malos may take place quickly. Colours are very good. The tannins are very ripe, and the cellars where they have open vats are suffused with the smell of gloriously ripe fruit. I am told the terroir definition is already very apparent. My one fear is the level of acidity in the top red wines. What we may have is a repeat of 1985, where, as readers will recall, we effectively had two sets of wines. The first matured fast and were fully mature in advance of their 10th birthday. The others had hardly even begun to soften by then, and only began to show agreably five years after that.
The white wines in the Côte d'Or are equally successful. Perhaps this year more sources than just Jadot will deem it appropriate to stop the malos half way through. The quality in the Mâconnais as well as Chablis has been to some extent compromised by their local weather conditions, but there are no long faces. But the Beaujolais crus are terrific. It may be the Côte de Beaune and the Côte Chalonnaise have got the best of it this year, as far as white wines are concerned; but elsewhere growers are nevertheless more than happy.