News from the Vineyard
Daniel Johnnes
July 19, 2022
Mid Summer Vineyard Tour
I make a point of getting a view of the vineyards during the summer and most often closer to harvest to get a bird’s-eye view of what challenges nature has presented. It helps inform my opinion and understanding of why the wines could be a certain way once finished.
Wine writers are famous for making premature declarations on a vintage. Based on weather patterns, crop size, projected harvest dates and similarities to previous vintages, they will often make statements such as, “vintage of the century” or “total wash out” or whatever, in order to be the first off the press with a prediction. Big predictions even before the first grapes begin to ferment!
I arrived July 8th under sunny skies and warm weather, nothing extreme. The people were happy and I heard no talk of the vineyard needing multiple treatments to fight the common oïdium, mildew, leaf roll and other ailments.
Spring and warm weather came early and with bud break and flowering uninterrupted, the predictions are for another August harvest. This one could start as early as August 20th in the Côte de Beaune.
One big difference between this vintage and other recent hot vintages such as 2018, 2019, 2020 is the amount of water the plants have received. Rainfall has been sporadic yet consistently nourishing the vines enough to avoid leaf burn and promote a healthy photosynthesis. In addition to small rainfalls, there was a big one on June 22nd that sent a scare across the Côte as it was mixed with hail that did some damage around Gevrey and other isolated communes in the Côte de Nuits.
In fact, after many years of viewing the vineyards at this time of year, I have never seen them so green. Normally, there are patches of yellow and brown but this year has been a picture perfect tableau of dark, rich green.
As they gear up for a week of near 100 degree temperatures, people are prepping for a mid-summer break before coming back mid-August to get ready for harvest.
Lots of smiles all around and plenty of crossed fingers. Not only does this one look healthy but it also looks abundant, which is desperately needed especially after the tiny crop in 2021 where quantities were down as much as 80%.
Marion Nauleau-Mugneret (left) and Lucie Teillaud-Mugneret (right) the next generation of Domaine Georges Mugneret Gibourg.
The perfect duo, Clotilde and her father Frédéric Lafarge of Domaine Michel Lafarge
