After the frost and drought of 2003, we could only expect an abundance of grapes last spring. Which is what happened, with often three grapes per cane in the Chardonnay vines.
It was hoped that maybe, given their high number, these grapes would stay small. This was not the case, especially in plots that had suffered from frost earlier.
So, perhaps good weather conditions could save us, and make us expect a repeat of fabulous vintage 1999? No, that’s not really what happened either.
In the spring, the dominant wind was from the north, so it did not rain and there was no threat of mildew. On the other hand, cool nights favored the incubation of oïdium, which showed in July and lasted until harvest.
July and August were not propitious, they respectively reached only 86% and 87% of the sun hours’ average over 30 years (statistics from 1971 to 2000 at the local weather station). On top of this, there was more rain over these two months that the norm, and the vines with too many grapes were touched by rot. The worst climactic incident of the summer, though, was the apocalyptic thunderstorm, followed by devasting hail, which hit the southern Mâconnais on July 20th (from Vergisson in the Pouilly-Fuissé area to Azé in the upper Mâconnais) There was another hailstorm around Lugny on August 22nd.
All in all, this vintage looked in trouble. Fortunately, September was dry and sunny. This was not enough to ensure a homogenous quality harvest in the whole region, because so many plots were overburdened with grapes, and others had been destroyed by hail.
For my part, I did not believe for a moment that the miracle of 1999 could return so soon. So I spent most of the summer cutting grapes where there looked to be too many, notably in about ¾ of Franclieu, old vines included. I am happy I did this work, because the lowest degree was 12 at harvesting time. I was patient and had devised a very precise picking plan. It took from September 23rd to October 4th in my Mâcon vines, then I picked in Vergisson on October 9th and 10th (Saint-Véran) I got some 13 and 13.5 degrees. What a relief, it was a balancing act!
We had no rain during the harvest, which is rare when it gets so late in the season, and the temperatures were ideal, between 59 and 77. The grapes were reasonably healthy, given the year’s weather, with very little oïdium, and no rot – this as a result of leaving grass in the rows, applying precise treatments, cutting grapes and removing some leaves.
Fermentations went well, of course they are not all finished yet for the richest wines. The wines are pleasant, they taste well right now, they are aromatic, with balanced structure and no excess of acidity (they are rounder than the 2001's). I believe we have come back to a typical Mâconnais vintage, of honorable quality.
A vigneron’s vintage, to sum it up.