Burgundy 2000s Flashcards
The ____ vintage was good and bad.
The cote de nuits and bone suffered from a terrible summer full of rains. Lots of rot and late picking.
Only ____ did well, as the rest of the Cotes as well.
2000
few southern villages of the Beaune
____ white Burgundy
drink now
Relatively crisp wine with good mineral definition
4/5—-89WS—-86RP
Generally speaking ___ was a wet, cool and cloudy year in Burgundy. The flowering was late and drawn out, leading eventually to uneven ripeness at the time of the harvest. July was miserably cold and wet, only drying up at the end of the month. There was then a hailstorm on August 2nd.
2001
Macconais and Southern Beuaune did well!
____ white Burgundy
drink soon
Ripe with balancing acidity. Good ageing potential.
5/5—95WS–92RP
July and August were dry and warm, but not too hot, and thankfully there were no violent storms. By the beginning of September, thanks to the drought, development had become somewhat blocked.
The harvest began in the Côte d’Or on September 15th. Maturity was a little irregular, and those who waited a week benefited greatly. The fruit was very healthy and it was hardly necessary to chaptalise. The crop was large, some three percent above the five year average.
2002 White Burgundy
The danger with Pouilly-Fuissés, particularly if they are the oaky versions, is that in hot, concentrated vintages they can be too alcoholic; top heavy wines lacking zip. There are one or two of these in 2002. Thankfully most are more harmonious. They are full bodied, fat and lush. Even the best Mâcon Blanc Villages will still improve. Save the Pouilly-Fuissés for another 12 months
A cool May retarded the flowering, but that took place in good conditions. July and August were dry and warm, but not too hot, and thankfully there were no violent storms. By the beginning of September, thanks to the drought, development had become somewhat blocked, but this seemed to be less of a problem with the Pinots than in the Chardonnays. Then there was rain. This did no harm except in Ladoix where it was somewhat excessive, reducing the concentration of the Cortons and such Corton-Charlemagnes as come from this side of the hill. This was followed by fine weather: clear skies with a cool north wind. The harvest began in the Côte d’Or on September 15 and was all over by the 1st of October, after which the weather deteriorated, affecting the quality of the later-picked Hautes Côtes. The crop was 5.5 percent less than the five-year average.
2002 Red Burgundy
Great Vintage!
CÔTE DE NUITS As above: delicious and consistent. As usual the wines are bigger and more black-fruity than the Côte de Beaunes. The top wines are also more concentrated. Start consuming your village wines and premiers crus from 2010; grands crus should be kept to 2015.
___ white Burgundy
drink now
Opulent wines for early drinking
3/5–87WS–84RP
As in most of Europe, Burgundy experienced the ____ heatwave that began with a very warm spring and then an incredibly hot June, July and August with some but little rain. Better growers managed their vineyards to ensure the heat did not scorch the grapes and retard ripening but in many cases, the grapes were very ripe and lacking in acidity. The oldest vineyards generally fared best in the heat. The harvest for white Burgundy was complete by 1 September.
2003 White Burg
Best Appellations
Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault but why?
Like the rest of France, Burgundy’s vineyards were on the receiving end of some exceptional weather conditions in _____. A fairly humid winter gave way to an early spring, prompting early growth of the vines. ‘Then,’ said Olivier Lamy of Domaine Hubert. “There was a frost, so everything lower down the slopes froze a bit.’
2003 Red Burg
Best Appellations
Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits St. Georges, Vosne-Romanée
The best for Beaujolaois
FIne to Good Vintage
The weather this year has provided Burgundy’s vignerons with some nail-biting moments. Things started well, with a winter and early spring remarkable only by their relative lack of frosts. May was warm followed by a cold snap so the Pinot flowering was late and drawn out. Summer arrived, and, with it came the rains. July and August were uncommonly damp, cloudy and cold, bringing the threat of mould and oidium. As a result, those vignerons who cut back the leaf canopy and green harvested rigorously ended up with the healthiest grapes.
Hailstorms struck the Côte de Beaune hard in August, culminating in a hard fall on 23 August, which wiped out swathes of Volnay, Pommard, Beaune and Savigny. While some vineyards were barely touched, others suffered up to 90 per cent damage. A total washout was prevented when the sun finally came out at the end of August and a brisk north wind helped dry out the vineyards. Hot afternoons and cool nights helped develop good ripeness, colour and acidity in the grapes. Harvest began pretty much on schedule, towards the latter half of September.
2004 Red Burgundy
Best Appellations
Côte de Nuits
Beaj and Beaune no bueno
ok vintage
____ white Burgundy
drink now
At best, good wines – but not great with firm to racy acidity.
3/5–90WS–91RP
June and July were cool.
The whole of September was perfect. n. A light north wind helped concentrate the sugar and acidity and kept the fungus at bay. The only challenge remaining was to harvest as late as possible but also to have finished before October’s rain.
2004 White Burg
Best Appellations
Mersault, St Aubin and Auxey Duresses
____ white Burgundy
Chablis: 4/5
Côte d’Or White: 4/5–93WS–90RP
Keep
Forward wines with plenty of fruit and expression, but possibly lacking the acidity required for super long ageing
2005
____ red Burgundy
Côte d’Or Red: 5/5
Keep
Sumptuous and generous styles of wine that will make fantastic drinking in the coming years. Ripe yet sitll fresh.
2005
he region as a whole had good weather throughout the summer with mostly dry, sunny days and cool nights. Rain fell across the region on 19 August, bringing the water table up when drought was threatening the vines.
‘The rain came at just the right moment,’ said BIVB president Michel Baldassini.
Odile Meurgues, head of the technical department at the BIVB, said, ‘The grapes were exceptionally healthy. The vines have escaped any and all infections. A characteristic of this year’s Pinot Noir is the thickness of its skins – a pointer to colour and structure in the wines. [By early September] the were already high in sugar and sugar/acidity balance was excellent for fruit at that stage in maturation.
____ white Burgundy
Chablis: 3/5
Côte d’Or White: 3/5–91WS–90RP
Keep
Wines have excellent freshness and acidity with good supporting fruit and character; a relatively precocious vintage.
2006
Best are pure, elegant and balanced, with ample flesh and, for some, botrytis character; some are low in acidity and heavy
____ red Burgundy
Côte d’Or Red: 3.5/5
Keep
Wines have good fruit purity and freshness, but lack the ripeness of better years. Serious wines may be worth keeping for a bit but also may be relatively precocious.
Weather Conditions
A cold, wet winter and spring – resulting in a late but even flowering and lots of foliage – was followed by record heat in July (beating even 2003).
2006
Best Appellations
A patchy vintage; wine from the Côte de Nuits will be more consistent, and the best producers may have made some excellent wines. The Côte de Beaune will prove more troublesome, even with careful selection.
____ white Burgundy
Chablis: 4/5
Côte d’Or White: 3.5/5—92WS–91RP
Keep
A classic vintage with searingly fresh acidity, terroir-driven fruit and good potential to age.
Weather Conditions
extremely sunny April saw bud-burst and flowering get off to a fine start. Then came a cool, damp and dreary summer that threatened mildew and rot, and left winemakers wondering if the grapes would ever ripen.
warm August end and a fresh, breezy, sunny September. Mostly growers delayed picking as long as possible (even up to 10 days after the reds) to ensure the Chardonnay reached full maturity. Bizarrely, Mâcon and Chablis started their harvests last and at the same time.
Drastic crop sorting and hail damage in parts of Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin reduced the final yield.
2007
The cool summer is reflected in the wonderful purity and minerality of the whites. Growers who dared to pick very late fared best, with greater depth of flavour and more pronounced aromas. Structures are livelier too, and the wines promise greater ageing potential.
The high, fine acidity which is a feature of the vintage suits Chablis very well and growers in this most northerly region were less worried by the dreary summer than elsewhere. Many Chablis are sensational, if more chiselled than normal.
____ red Burgundy
Côte d’Or Red: 3/5
Drink soon
Fragrant wines with light tannins and fresh, accessible fruit, though styles vary hugely as a result of the erratic, labour-intensive vintage.
Weather Conditions
While the warmest April in 50 years got the vintage off to a good and early start, from May to August it was cool and dreary. There were rainy spells and virtually no sunshine, and mildew and grey rot were constant threats (though less so than in Bordeaux in the same year). Growers had to apply effort, vigilance and extra treatment in the vineyards, while the grapes struggled to develop maturity.
Salvation arrived with a warm late August and a fresh, sunny September. Skins ripened and sugar levels soared, while drying north winds put the brakes on rot. The forecast late harvest became an early one, though there was huge variation in picking dates. In Beaujolais, picking began early and was over by the beginning of September.
Hard-graft continued in the cellar, the elimination of unripe and unhealthy grapes reducing yields by around 20%.
2007
Meticulous sorting produced very good grapes; fruity, vivid, elegant reds for early to mid-term drinking. Good success in Gevrey-Chambertin
Pierre Damoy (Chambertin-Clos de Bèze), Arnand Rousseau, Louis Jadot (Gevrey-Chambertin), Henri Gouges (Nuits-St-Georges), Comte Georges de Vogüé (Chambolle-Musigny), , Pierre Damoy (Chambertin),
____ white Burgundy
Chablis: 4/5
Côte d’Or White: 3.5/5–93WS–91RP
keep
Difficult, low-yielding vintage of varied quality. Intriguing combination of richness and fresh acidity due to late sunshine and cold breezes.
Weather Conditions
A cool, wet spring and early summer brought uneven budburst and patchy flowering.
Early July, settled and sunny, had growers optimistic. But all too soon ____ turned downhill, as big hailstorms hit the region: on 26 July, whole swathes were wiped out, especially in Meursault, while on 7 August Pouilly-Fuisse in the Mâconnais took a bashing.
Chablis was the least affected region.
The weather finally broke on 14 September, not before rain-soaked August had rot infecting the vineyards. Drying, northerly winds rapidly concentrated the berries, and sugars rose swiftly in the cool sunshine. Picking times were critical to retain sufficient acidity, especially in Mâconnais which saw the most sunshine.
2008
Best Appellations
The vintage’s unusual combination of high sugars and high acidity has worked well for Puligny-Montrachet, the premiers crus, in particular, which range from piercingly fresh and minerally to richer styles that are lusciously opulent. Chassagnes, too, are impressive – slightly less energetic but rich with firm acidity.
Chablis is another star of the vintage: bracing and refreshing and wonderfully minerally.
