The 2010 Burgundy Harvest
First Report: October 2010
As I write, in mid-October, wine-makers are starting to run their red wines off the residue of skins, stems and the rest, into barrel. In the meanwhile the whites are finishing their fermentations at their leisure. It is not to early for a preliminary assessment of the 2010 vintage.
Climatic conditions
It was a cold, drawn-out winter, some two degrees cooler than the average, though rainfall and sunshine were normal. There was one severe attack of frost on December 22nd, just before Christmas, which has caused widespread damage on the upside of the main road from Beaune to Dijon. In many places the road is on higher ground, and the land dips before climbing up towards the premiers crus, thus causing a frost pocket. It is here, just as in 1985, that the damage has been done. Some vines have been killed outright; others managed a late push of vegetation which was either unproductive or far to late to be useful. This, and further depredations later in the season, have led to a crop estimated at 25 percent or more less than the average (which is some 250,000 hectolitres, excluding generics, for the Côte d'Or).
Apart from a brief interlude in April the cold climatic pattern continued right through until June 22nd. The vines flowered late and irregularly. Coulure and millerandage were widespread. There were isolated attacks of mildew. Things were the opposite of promising. The harvest would be late and maturity would be uneven unless there were to be a dramatic improvement in the weather.
Happily Burgundy then enjoyed a fine, even hot period of several weeks until July 21st. The downside was that there were, inevitably, the usual storms, and in places, hail damage. On July 10th parts of northern Beaujolais and the southern Mâconnais were affected: Moulin à Vent, Saint-Amour, Leynes, Chaintré, Pouilly-Vinzelles, and the village of Fuissé. There was hail in some of the left bank vineyards in Chablis, especially in Vaillons. But the Côte d'Or and the Chalonnais seem to have been spared.
The weather in August was uneven; nice and warm, but with no lack of rain. We had oidium, here and there, and black rot elsewhere, in vineyards not properly looked after, especially in southern Burgundy and parts of Meursault. This and the hail has resulted in uneven quality in the Mâconnais, while further north the vintage is much more consistent.
Once into September the weather changed again. The wind changed to the north. It began to be much cooler during the night. Most days were dry and warm (though not hot – 25° maximum) but above all very sunny. It is sun, rather than heat, which ripens the fruit. Photosynthesis was able to continue right to the end, as the vegetation remained green; acidities did not plunge; while the grapes continued to pile on sugar. Except where there had been prior hail or crytogamic damage the fruit remained very healthy.
Apart from a few gloomy days around Tuesday September 7th, and a brief tempest in the evening of the 12th, which occasioned hail damage in Santenay and the southern end of Chassagne-Montrachet, the fine weather continued until Friday September 24th, by which time everyone was into their harvest. Picking began across Burgundy at more or less the same time: the 16th in the Beaujolais, the 18th in the Mâconnais, the 20th in the Côte Chalonnaise, the Côte d'Or and Chablis, though some waited until the 23rd. Following a pause on the 24th the good conditions continued with but brief stoppages for what turned out to be showers rather than more prolonged periods of rain. Most growers had finished by the week-end of October 1st.
All reports underline the same conclusion about the 2010 harvest. It has turned out a great deal better than one could possibly have imagined at the end of June. If only it had been drier in August! Not that August was wetter than the average, indeed in southern Burgundy precipitation was the same as in 2009.
The Beaujolais are not as abundantly seductive as last year, but they are perhaps more classic. The fruit is fresh and delicious, say my spies. The crop is small and quality is less even than in 2009.
Quality in part of the Mâconnais has been compromised by the July 10th hail. It will be here that the 2010 vintage will be at its most heterogenous. But nevertheless, where the fruit has been correctly sorted, we have a combination of good fruit, correct levels of alcohol, nice supporting acidity and no lack of character.
Growers in the Côte Chalonnaise are very happy, especially with their red wines. 'That makes three highly successful vintages in a row.' said one, adding that the crop was saved by the anti-rot treatments he had had to apply.
As elsewhere a small crop in Chablis, as much through a lack of juice in the grapes as to the size of the crop. Good alcoholic dregees – indeed more in the premiers crus than in the grand crus – healthy fruit and nice austere acidities.
Which brings us to the Côte d'Or. Once again not a lot of juice, owing to widespread millerandage, but more concentration as a result. There is a lot of fruit and the grapes were in a very good state of health. Alcohol and acidity levels are more than satisfactory, as are the initial colours. So if the red wines are not as glorious as in 2009, they are certainly very good, above the current average. The red wines are consistent; in the Côte de Beaune said to be at their best in Pommard; while the quality in the Côte de Nuits was noted as 'très joli'.
It is even earlier days to pronounce on the whites than on the reds. One wine-maker spoke about 'explosive' aromas, on the side of the exotic, but colours which less deep than he feared. There are good acidities, but the vintage wil be less classic than the 2008s in his opinion.
Up-date: November 2010
While travelling from cellat to cellar sampling the 2009s, I have, quite naturally, been quizzing growers about their 2010s.
The first thing to underline is that it is a short crop; down by as much as a third from the abundance of last year. The second is that the more you journey north in the Côte d'Or, the better the reception. I have not seen any statistics, but it may well be that it rained less in August. Certainly the storm of September 12th, which caused hail damage in Santenay, and seems to have 'turned' much of the Chardonnay fruit as far north as Meursault, advancing the harvest, does not seem to have been given more than a passing glance in Gevrey-Chambertin. Moreover there was less precipitation up here ten days later.
In short The Côte de Nuits growers are quietly optimistic. Colours are promising. The wines have vigorous, racy aromas with no lack of fruit. Once again we thank le Bon Dieu for having rescued the 2010s from what seemed, on the 31st of August, to be a disaster.