NEWS FROM THE VINEYARD - a devastating frost hammers much of France

by Max Goldberg Liu
Wednesday April 14, 2021

It has been a rough couple of weeks for vignerons throughout France - not just in regions where frost is not uncommon like Champagne and Burgundy, but also in the Loire, Bordeaux, the Northern Rhône, and even parts of the Southern Rhône.

In Burgundy, the problem was exacerbated by the warm and sunny weather the previous week, which meant more advanced - and vulnerable - buds on the vines. Also, some growers even saw the more dangerous “gelée noir” or “Black Frost” that is different from the more common hoarfrost. Black frost is not technically frost at all, but rather a situation when it is so cold that the plant tissue itself freezes and dies (hence the black necrotic vegetation…). Indeed, it was so cold in many parts of Burgundy and elsewhere that the candles that growers had painstakingly stocked (there was a major shortage across the country) were sometimes completely ineffective in raising the temperatures in certain vineyards above freezing.

As the Côte de Beaune is usually a week or so more advanced than the Côte de Nuits, the damage seems to be greater there, but perhaps not by much.

It is still early to confirm the extent of the damage, and there is always hope that the vines will rebound with a secondary bud-break, although that will also mean a much more complicated growing season - frost-damaged vines often have a tough time with flowering and secondary buds are often more susceptible to funguses and other diseases.

Other winegrowing regions were not spared - Guillaume Clusel in Côte-Rôtie estimates 60% of his Côte-Rôtie vines’ buds are damaged, and 40% in the Coteaux du Lyonnais. In Sancerre, Franck Bailly of Domaine Bailly-Reverdy says that all the villages saw some frost and that he estimates that he lost at least 50% of his crop.

This is clearly the worst frost in recent memory - certainly worse than 2016, with many growers having to ask their parents to comb the distant past for a comparison. Apparently some older winemakers in Burgundy remember 1956 as one such year…

The situation in the Côte de Beaune and Chalonnaise is very grave. And I don’t know if it’s much better in the Côte de Nuits. In sum, it’s much worse than 2016.

- Jean Soubeyrand, Maison Olivier Leflaive

We have indeed been severely affected, particularly with the whites. We spent multiple nights in a row fighting with candles but they were only very slightly effective…

- Jacques Devauges, Domaine des Lambrays

Still, the vigneron spirit will triumph, and so many growers have responded with a positive attitude. They have gone through tough times before and emerged stronger.

This will be tough to get through, but rest assured that we will never give up and that we will do everything we can to make a GREAT but small 2021 vintage.

- Benjamin Leroux

Complicated years happen, but we will continue our work.

- Nathalie Tollot, Domaine Tollot-Beaut

These three freezing nights were indeed a violent ordeal. We fought, but the conditions were too extreme. Even if it is too early to make a realistic assessment, the losses can be quantified from 50 to 100% depending on the sector.

But the vine will endure… and life is beautiful!

- Aubert de Villaine, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

News from the Vineyard - Special Harvest Edition

August 25, 2020
by Justine Puaud & Max Goldberg Liu

NEWS FROM BURGUNDY

Côte de Beaune

This year is historically early for many growers in Burgundy.

Guillaume d’Angerville finished on August 25th which was the start date of his previous earliest harvest - 2003. This is a very different vintage than 2003, however - so far the grapes coming in have been very well balanced with good concentration due to the late summer drought, and are not at all overripe or dramatically low in acidity. Sanitary conditions are excellent as well - there is almost no need for a sorting table.

Thus far, weather conditions have been perfect - beautiful sunny days and cool nights, and growers are crossing their fingers that it continues.

Frédéric and Clothilde Lafarge finished the first day of harvest with a big smile, declaring the quality of the grapes to be amazing and forecasting 2020 as a great vintage. So far, the Lafarges are equally happy with the quality of both the whites and the reds. They should finish the harvest Friday evening and will be celebrating their Paulée with the vendangeurs.

Be sure to check out the video below with Fred Lafarge that our friends Richard and Carla Rza Betts captured the other day. Richard and Carla are in Burgundy this week capturing exclusive content for the Pressoir.wine Club, so be sure to look out for more footage from the harvest.

Beautiful cool harvest weather (Nicolas Rossignol, August 24, 2020)

Rapid fermentation of Clos du Château des Ducs (Clothilde Lafarge, Domaine Lafarge)

Early morning at Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault Charmes (August 23, 2020)

Côte de Nuits

As is usually the case, the Côte de Nuits was generally a little behind the Côte de Beaune in starting the harvest, and the quality is looking to be equally as high.

Véronique Drouhin remarked that her Griotte-Chambertin was quite small in quantity but that the small bunches look magnificent.

Bonnes Mares (Domaine Hudelot-Baillet, August 25, 2020)

La Romanée being picked on August 26, 2020 (Louis-Michel Liger-Belair)

Griotte-Chambertin (Véronique Drouhin, August 22, 2020)

NEWS FROM CHAMPAGNE

2020 is also a historic vintage in Champagne: the earliest harvest on record.

This is the third warm year in a row producing beautifully ripe grapes. Many Champenois are comparing the trio of 2018, 2019, 2020 to the heralded trilogy of 1988, 1989, 1990. There are many similarities in growing conditions, precocity of the harvest, good ripeness, and clean fruit.

Many of the winemakers are finishing picking and pressing Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Some of the Chardonnay is in but growers in the Côte des Blancs are waiting a bit longer to pick.

Rodolphe Péters of Pierre Péters is proud of how his Chardonnay vines have handled the changing climate: “This brings me to a thought about VERSATILITY, having a look back to the recent history of Champagne. What was the grape variety which used to be harvested the first when the climate was very challenging and cool and harvest was taken place in late September or October? And what is now the latest grape variety to be picked, while we face impacts of the global warming and must manage every year earlier and earlier harvests ? Only one answer in both cases: Chardonnay.”

Our friend Marie-Pascale Do-Dinh is in Champagne this week - we look forward to sharing the footage and photos of her visits with you in the coming weeks.

Pinot Noir from 1er Cru Les Noues in Ecueil at Champagne Frédéric Savart (August 26, 2020)

AR Lenoble is finishing pressing Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Harvest started simultaneously in Krug’s Clos d’Ambonnay and Clos du Mesnil. (Olivier Krug, August 26, 2020)

Chardonnay from the top part of Les Hautes Chèvres (Vincent Laval, August 25, 2020)

News from the vineyard 7/6/20

by Max Goldberg Liu

Veraison - the onset of ripening - is a turning point in the vine’s life cycle when it changes gears from producing energy through photosynthesis to storing that energy as sugar in grapes.

After flowering and fruit-setting, the grapes are hard, highly acidic, and green from the plant’s chlorophyll. Veraison replaces the chlorophyll with anthocyanins (giving red grapes their color) or carotenoids (in white grapes) and pumps sugars and other compounds from the vine into the berries. Over the course of ripening, the grapes swell with juice, their percentage of sugar (measured in brix) increases, and their acidity falls. Choosing to harvest when the sugar, acidity, and other phenolic compounds like tannins are perfectly balanced is one of the most important decisions a winemaker has to make each vintage.

In Burgundy, veraison classically happened in late July, although rules of thumb are obviously out the window in recent years with climate change. This vintage, winemakers are seeing veraison start to happen right now. The precocious vintage continues…

Interview with Arthur Clair

June 18, 2020

by Eléonore Lafarge

Can you give us an overview of your domaine? How long have you been working at the domaine?

Domaine Bruno Clair is a 25 hectares (61.7 acres) based in Marsannay-la-Côte. The majority of the appellations of the domaine are in Marsannay and Gevrey-Chambertin but we farm parcels spread over seven villages of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune.

I started working at the domaine in 2017, after my studies. However, I always helped my father during summers and during the harvests. 

Did you make some changes in the vineyard and cellar work when you took over?

When my brother Edouard took over, some changes were made in the vineyards and in the cellar as well. I agree completely with these changes and always try to make things better. 

All our parcels are now farmed organically, even though we do not have any certifications. 

We are always engaged in dialogue with my father and my brother. For example, since we are trying to make fine wine with more complexity, we made the decision to add more whole clusters since 2015.

Do you have new projects for the domaine? 

The next important project we have is to build a new winery after the 2020 harvest. This renovation is necessary because we need more space and therefore we would be more organized. 

Have you always wanted to be a winemaker? Was it an obvious choice to take over the winery or did it take a few years to realize you wanted to be a winemaker?

I always love working outside, with plants or animals. Before choosing to pursue a career in viticulture and oenology, I tried agriculture, which I thought I would enjoy. Then the choice was obvious considering that my father gave me his passion for the vineyards and family traditions. 

What is your general winemaking philosophy?

To me, respecting our soils and terroir is very important. We have to keep life in our soils. For many years, chemicals have been used in Burgundy. Since my father started to plow in the 90’s, we are able to work with soils with biodiversity. 

Another important thing is the selection of the plants we use. This selection will influence the quality of the grapes and hence the wine. Therefore, I try to be very careful with the rootstock I choose for the different parcels. 

Do you have a favorite vineyard to work in? 

I have two favorite vineyards: Clos Saint Jacques in Gevrey-Chambertin and La Rue de Vergy in Morey-Saint-Denis. The landscapes in these two vineyards are amazing. 

With this complicated situation, can you still work in the vineyards and the cellar?

We have been able to adapt to this unexpected situation without any damage to our work in the vineyards. 

Considering the pandemic, we cannot welcome customers for tastings and I have to admit that I miss talking about the wines, our viticulture techniques and philosophy. 

What is being done in the vineyards and the cellar right now?

In the vineyards, we are doing the trellising.  

In the cellar, we are doing some analysis to follow on the cuvées which haven’t completed their malolactic fermentation. 

Does climate change make it more difficult to work in the vineyards now compared to the generations before? Later frost? More hail? 

Climate change has an important impact on the harvest dates and maturity of the grapes. Before, winemakers had more struggles to reach good maturities, whereas today, we have to be careful not to let the grapes over ripen. The grapes have, now, a lot of matter, it is important to make sure the wines don’t have too much tannins or alcohol or are too “heavy”. So, the extraction is lighter than before.

News from the vineyard 6/18/20

June 18, 2020
by Max Goldberg Liu

Continued warm weather in Burgundy means that the vines are still progressing at a very fast clip. Here, Nicolas Rossignol shows us La Nouaison (Fruit Setting) of his Volnay Taillepieds where the berries are growing rapidly. In some of his parcels, the clusters are nearly fully formed. Winemakers all over France are marveling at the precocity of their vines this year, with some areas an entire month ahead of the average growing season.

Interview with Mathilde Grivot

June 12, 2020
by Eléonore Lafarge

Can you give us an overview of your domaine? How long have you been working at the domaine?

Domaine J.Grivot is a family estate in Vosne-Romanée. We farm 15 hectares (37 acres) spread in 18 appellations from Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny and Vougeot. Regarding our work in the vineyard, we are farming sustainably all our vineyards. We make every decision according to what the plant needs and what the weather gives us.

As far as winemaking, we de-stemmed all our grapes. We love working with pinot noir. With this grape variety, we are always looking for precision, harmony, balance and freshness in our wines. We love to associate complexity, energy. We like when a wine gives you a thrill...

I started working at the domaine 10 years ago during the 2010 harvest! I have worked with my brother Hubert since that harvest and our parents, Etienne and Marielle are still helping us. Over the years, Hubert and I took more responsibilities. We added a new energy to the domaine while combining our parents’ experience. It's a very nice adventure. 

Did you make some changes in the vineyard and cellar work when you took over?

When I started working with my parents, our desire was to keep an evolution regarding the style of the wines. 

In the 90’s, my father worked on the stability of the wines as well as their ability to age and travel well. This can explain why his wines may have been a bit firm in their early years. When we taste them today, they are still young. In 1997, he focused on communication of the wines with his previous completions still in mind. At the end of the 2000’s, the new challenge was to keep the ageing ability associated with more precision, and more silky tannins while keeping the expressions from each terroir. I am thrilled to see the evolutions year after year. Wines combine freshness, precision, salinity and a graphite and juicy yet sappy side that I love!

In the vineyard, my father made many changes in the mid 80’s when he stopped using acaricides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. After this big change and a precise monitoring of our vines, we noticed a balance in our soils, a stability in the organic acids which allows us to reach perfect skin maturity and extract more without lacking acidity. 

Do you have new projects for the domaine? 

This has been a family domaine for 6 generations, it is important to us to keep its identity. All of my family members, my parents, brother, aunts and cousins all get along. It is important that everyone remains happy in this family structure. The ones working at the domaine as well as the rest of the family. 

The domaine has had a very good reputation for many years and we continue to establish our notoriety and make the wines evolve towards what we like: freshness, sophistication, energy and resonance. 

Have you always wanted to be a winemaker? What is an evidence to take over the winery or did it take a few years to realize you wanted to be a winemaker?

I have a nice story about this! When we were 8 and 10, my brother and I decided to take over the domaine together. When we told our parents, they were touched! And we never changed our minds!

I feel lucky to have this passionating job at an amazing location with dreamy appellations! I am the 6th generation to take over the estate and I am still fascinated by the complementarity of savoir-faire of my job. 

I was lucky to make vinifications in Pomerol at Vieux Château Certan as well as Domaine Drouhin in Oregon before coming back to Vosne-Romanée. These two amazing experiences made me more open-minded and taught me to always question myself. 

What is your favorite wine? Do you have a favorite vineyard to work in? 

I am not sure I have a favorite wine. What i know is that each wine has its own personality. Among our 18 appellations, some of them are soothing, some are dynamizing. I’m typically choosing the wine I want to drink according to how my day went.

For the last few years, we have been working on long growing seasons and a better extrability. The result of this work is wine with more body and more fruit. For example, we discovered incredible quality in our Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru “Les Pruliers” or in our Clos de Vougeot. We also found out that Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru “Les Chaumes” had a distinctive elegance and our Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru “Les Rouges” was unsuspectedly intense! 

Do you have a particularly memorable wine tasting experience ? 

A part of our vineyards belongs to my grandmother’s sister, Jacqueline Jayer. She kept wines from her winemaker’s years and she shared a bottle of Echezeaux 1947 a few years ago. 

With this complicated situation, can you still work in the vineyards and the cellar?

Covid-19 made everything more difficult. At the domaine, we adopted safety precautions. Now everyone uses their own tools and we practice social distancing in the vineyard. 

As winemakers, we are lucky to have this opportunity because Nature doesn’t wait! 2020 is an early vintage. With our team, we have been able to take care of our vineyards. We are not working in the cellar at the moment since the 2018 vintage is already bottled and the 2019 vintage is still in barrel. 

What is being done in the vineyards and the cellar right now?

The flowering is now over in all our vineyards and we are enjoying perfect weather. The vegatative cycle is harmonious but we’re three weeks early on schedule!  

Right now, we are doing what we call “relevage”. We place the vegetation in the double wire in order to guide it upright. The vine is a creeping plant that would naturally grow on the ground if we didn’t do this.

We also plow our vineyards to eliminate weeds using either a tractor or a horse.

Is it more complicated for a woman to be a winemaker?

Even though there are more and more women managing domaines, it is not easy everyday! We always have to prove that we are able to do it. 

However, I like this challenge. I have a warrior temper and associated with the finesse and feminine sensitivity, it gives great results. We are complementary with men and I think it is important to use everyone's strengths to succeed. This is what my brother and I do and it works very well.

Does climate change make it more difficult to work in the vineyards now compared to the generations before? Later frost? More hail? 

For the last few years, winters are warmer and it tends to kick off the beginning of the growing season at an earlier stage. Summers have been drier and warmer. This makes us reflect on the behavior of the vine in the face of this. What is certain is that we are getting better maturities now than in the 90’s. Since we started with my brother in 2010, we haven't had a bad vintage in 10 years ... We have had early vintages, like 2011 or late vintages like 2013 but no vintage with grapes of poor quality.

News from the vineyard 5/28/20

Nicolas Rossignol shows us the progress of his Volnay Taillepieds - we see here the flowers transforming into the beginnings of grapes. Henri Jayer used to say that maturity would be reached 100 days after the start of flowering, so Nicolas estimates a pick date between August 28 and September 2 at this point - another early harvest!

News from the vineyard 5/20/20

Due to high temperatures in Burgundy in the last two months, some vineyards are already flowering. Compared to 2019, the vines are reaching the flowering stage three weeks earlier.

As Brice de la Morandière reminded us in last Saturday’s At Home Session, the harvest date is typically scheduled 100 days from the flowering. If this calculation is applied this year, the harvest would start in August.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Rossignol

News from the vineyard 4/22/20

In Burgundy, the vines are growing quickly. An early growing season especially in the Cote de Beaune means that some vines are already showing mini grapes. Winemakers are now hoping for some rain for the vineyards. After an élevage of 18 months, most domains of Burgundy are bottling the 2018 vintage in their cellars. Domaine Matrot, in Meursault, finished bottling the 2018 on 21st of April.

Domaine Yvon Clerget, Volnay 1er Cru Carelle sous la Chapelle