November 9th, 2020:
I must admit we've spent the entire week stuck in front of our TV's waiting to hear the final results of your US elections. And now that we've heard the news, it's looking like the 2020 vintage is announcing itself to be greeted in much better circumstances that it could have been. It's a good vintage, one that will forever be linked to this unprecedented global crisis I hope we will be getting out of soon.
In the vines of Mâcon, the year began quickly with an average of three weeks in advance for the vegetative cycle, making us fear for the possibility of a spring frost. In the end it wasn't an issue, mostly due to the dry, above average weather, never under 0°. We had zero rain from mid-April to mid-May. Confinement gave us a chance to do essential work in the vines at a leisurely pace. We were grateful to be able to be outside.
Flowering began very early. I noticed the first flowers on May 12th, same as 2011! In 2019 in was June 3rd. But due to a cold snap, the process took a long time. From late May forward, we didn't have a drop of rain until early August.
Everything was set for a very early harvest, but paradoxically the lack of water had halted maturities and possibly quantities for others. Though I believe my lack of grapes came from the long flowering, a lack of fertilizers being added this year and pruning short.
We started picking on August 21st, making it the second earliest year after 2003 (when we started on the 15th). It was very hot, so mask wearing proved impossible after the first day. Fortunately everyone was fine.
The quality is there, with potentials globally around 14%. The juices were very hot at press, so we had to lean heavily on cold temperatures for the fermentations. The acidity is not that high but the PH is solid, from 3 to 3.25. The yields were all over the place, with sectors on less clay suffering the most (clay tends to trap in more water and release less heat). Franclieu, due to being on a more clay-heavy terroir, was a normal crop for me. In my other terroirs within Mâcon-Charnay, I was lucky if I could get 50hl/h. In the end I have MORE wine than in 2019 but the appellation is globally 15 to 18% down.
Despite our fears, the fermentations went well. They were long but not languishing, something you have to worry about when you have high potentials. The malos are already started or finished (the sun burned a good part of the malic acid away).
While lower than average, the acidities are satisfactory, from 3.80 to 4 grams. The wines will definitely taste as if they came from a solar vintage: round and ample but aromatic and balanced. As always, we'll have to wait a bit and see...








