News from the Vineyard
By Daniel Johnnes
July 23, 2020
Harvest is still another 5 or so weeks away -way too soon to make any pronouncements. It has been a good growing season in Burgundy and many other regions of France.
Today, I decided to call Christophe Roumier to catch up on an old friend before he departed for a brief vacation prior to harvest. Turns out, he left for vacation yesterday but took the call nonetheless. As always with winemaker friends, after catching up on vacation plans, world events and more, the conversation always turns back to what’s happening in the vineyard.
Christophe is cautiously optimistic. Cautious because anything can happen in the last 5 weeks. The weather has been great throughout the spring and summer thus far. It started hot and dry but there was a cooling off period and enough water to give the thirsty vines a good sip to keep them maturing. He said the crop looks good, maybe average in size and certainly better than 2019. There is plenty of “millerandage”, the shot berries that yield small concentrated grapes. One is always happy to see some but not too much because they add structure and sweet juice to the must. Too much and the resulting wine can yield an overly tannic structure due to the small ratio of juice to skin which is not the desired expression of pinot noir and great Burgundy.
Other than that, he is cautious. We are not at the finish line and the last month or so will define the vintage as the grapes go through veraison and turn color.
It appears harvest in Chambolle-Musigny at Domaine Roumier will start sometime around August 28th. He was aiming for first few days of September but we shall see.
I am perennially amazed at the stoic demeanor of these winemakers who are at the whim of mother nature. They take what they are given and even when dealt a tough hand, they accept it and move on to the next vintage. 2020 appears to be special.
