Visiting the Cote d’Or in late October last year, I saw first-hand for the first time why the vineyards are referred to as the ‘golden’ slopes. The stunning sight of row after row of vines, as far as the eye can see, turning every shade of yellow, gold and orange under vibrant blue skies truly was breathtaking. Our visit couldn’t have taken place under more perfect conditions.
Echoing these beautiful conditions were the smiling faces of vigneron after vignoron who opened their cellar door to taste the 2016 vintage with us.
The upbeat mood is actually thanks to the 2017 vintage - just harvested - because for the first time in several years, domaines up and down the length of the Cote d’Or have brought in a ‘normal’ harvest, whatever ‘normal’ now means. After a string of incredibly difficult vintages and very low yields, none more so than 2016, growers can relax and take a breath, safe in the knowledge that – for next year at least – there are wines in the cellars. I was delighted by the sight of the cellar at Domaine Francois Buffet in Volnay, which we witnessed almost full of barrels, a stark contrast to the sight I’ve seen on every visit I’ve made in the last ten years.
The same week last year however – when our growers had just brought in the 2016 vintage – saw a very different picture . The 2016 growing season was one of the like most have never seen before. Hugely complicated, we heard many stories of domaines losing swathes of vineyards to the very late frosts which struck hard, two nights in a row at the end of April, in a pattern unlike any other year. Only to then face the prospect of losing the few grapes that were left to mildew during three very wet months from May to July. Thankfully, a beautifully warm and sunny August and September saved the vintage and when the harvest finally took place (everything was pushed back due to the late frost) many growers spoke of grapes, albeit decimated in volume, coming into the wineries in great health, with barely any need for sorting. And this is certainly borne out in the wines.
The reds are charming. Consistently pretty, bright and fresh and in the best cases succulent, with real concentration. My notes are peppered with the words ‘elegant’, ‘ripe’, and ‘balanced’. It really is a Pinot lover’s year and the wines will make delicious mid-term drinking. My personal highlights include the wines of Domaine des Beaumont in Morey St Denis (whose reds are marked by dark berry-fruit, smooth, fine-grained tannins and lovely concentration) and Domaine Joseph Voillot, whose magical, finely-spun reds were the last we tasted of the week, and whose fragrance, tension and silky textures sent us floating back down to Geneva airport.
The whites have great ripeness levels but also lovely balancing acidities. They are elegant, textured, have ripe, peachy fruit and are much more classic in style then the rich, powerful 2015s. Highlights include Monnier’s Meursaults (his Vieilles Vignes and 1er Cru Genevrieres were so expressive, with floral fruit and spicy, creamy new oak, whereas his more restrained Charmes 1er Cru was sleek, linear and mineral) and Domaine Bachelet Monnot, whose lively, crisp, intense and focused whites were some of the best I’ve tasted with them.
Unfortunately, the dominant feature of 2016 is the real lack of wine produced. To give a little more detail on the havoc that Mother Nature wreaked, not only was it a year where the frosts were widespread and hard, but it was a year where normal patterns simply didn’t prevail and the story was different everywhere we went. Unusually, it was the higher-elevation sites – the 1er and Grand Crus - that were struck the hardest, with the lower lying vineyards in some cases left completely untouched. And we heard stories of vineyards that had been completely wiped out but whose next-door neighbours had scarcely lost 10 or 15 percent of their crop. The mildew that beset the vines in the exceptionally humid Summer months was also erratic and much was decided by the prudent – or otherwise - timing of treatments. The only area that was uniformly hit was Chablis which was sadly almost entirely devoid of grapes following the worst frost since 1981.
Of the growers that Averys follow, Domaine des Beaumonts stand out as particularly lucky, not just in Morey but in the Cote d’Or as a whole. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Buffet in Volnay, whose 2016 Volnay Villages is all in one barrel compared to the normal twenty, Lamarche, whose volumes are down 50% overall and 80% in some vineyards, Jean Jaques Girard who lost half of their crop, Jobard , who lost up to 70% depending on the vineyard, or Dubreuil Fontaine who lost 80% of their Chardonnay in Pernand Vergellesses. The list goes on.
The good news for the Burgundy drinker is that, as highlighted at the beginning of this note, volumes in 2017 were good. Confidence is, at least partially, restored and whereas a year ago the mood could’ve been described as panicked in many cases, the 2016s have spent a year in barrel, the 2017s are safely in the cellars and growers have had a year to ruminate. The result is that price rises are, on the whole, moderate despite the fact that volumes of 2016 are so tiny.
Averys are also in the very lucky position of having many great and long relationships with growers from Gevrey to Chassagne. There is no doubting that wine is scarce but we have been able to secure at least some volume of almost all of wines that we selected. My advice though is to move quickly to ensure you receive the wines that you would like – for example we have just fifteen cases of Bachelet Monnot’s Puligny Montrachet (we had twenty-five last year) and just ten 6-packs of Voillot’s Volnay 1er Cru Fremiets (we had twenty last year). We also consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have some volume of Chablis from Domaine des Malandes to offer you, after Lyn Marchive and her team suffered significant damage in April.
There are two final points to make on the wines. The first is that in years when 1er Crus and Grand Crus are very badly damaged, it is often the case that there is not enough fruit from these vineyards to fill a barrel and instead, it finds it’s way into a domaine’s more humble cuvees, which then represent excellent value for money. A great example of this is Gouge’s delicious Nuits St Georges Villages. The second point is that low yields equal concentrated wines! Ok, I am talking in general terms, but on the whole, growers that we visited in October spoke of tiny yields (just 3hl/h in Buffet’s Volnay vineyards!) of grapes being harvested in perfect health. And these few grapes are absolutely packed with cherry and berry fruit in the case of the reds, and white peach, and ripe citrus fruits in the case of the whites. They will not disappoint.
If you would like to attend our tasting on the 17th January at the cellars - please follow this link
The upbeat mood is actually thanks to the 2017 vintage - just harvested - because for the first time in several years, domaines up and down the length of the Cote d’Or have brought in a ‘normal’ harvest, whatever ‘normal’ now means. After a string of incredibly difficult vintages and very low yields, none more so than 2016, growers can relax and take a breath, safe in the knowledge that – for next year at least – there are wines in the cellars. I was delighted by the sight of the cellar at Domaine Francois Buffet in Volnay, which we witnessed almost full of barrels, a stark contrast to the sight I’ve seen on every visit I’ve made in the last ten years.
The same week last year however – when our growers had just brought in the 2016 vintage – saw a very different picture . The 2016 growing season was one of the like most have never seen before. Hugely complicated, we heard many stories of domaines losing swathes of vineyards to the very late frosts which struck hard, two nights in a row at the end of April, in a pattern unlike any other year. Only to then face the prospect of losing the few grapes that were left to mildew during three very wet months from May to July. Thankfully, a beautifully warm and sunny August and September saved the vintage and when the harvest finally took place (everything was pushed back due to the late frost) many growers spoke of grapes, albeit decimated in volume, coming into the wineries in great health, with barely any need for sorting. And this is certainly borne out in the wines.
The reds are charming. Consistently pretty, bright and fresh and in the best cases succulent, with real concentration. My notes are peppered with the words ‘elegant’, ‘ripe’, and ‘balanced’. It really is a Pinot lover’s year and the wines will make delicious mid-term drinking. My personal highlights include the wines of Domaine des Beaumont in Morey St Denis (whose reds are marked by dark berry-fruit, smooth, fine-grained tannins and lovely concentration) and Domaine Joseph Voillot, whose magical, finely-spun reds were the last we tasted of the week, and whose fragrance, tension and silky textures sent us floating back down to Geneva airport.
The whites have great ripeness levels but also lovely balancing acidities. They are elegant, textured, have ripe, peachy fruit and are much more classic in style then the rich, powerful 2015s. Highlights include Monnier’s Meursaults (his Vieilles Vignes and 1er Cru Genevrieres were so expressive, with floral fruit and spicy, creamy new oak, whereas his more restrained Charmes 1er Cru was sleek, linear and mineral) and Domaine Bachelet Monnot, whose lively, crisp, intense and focused whites were some of the best I’ve tasted with them.
Unfortunately, the dominant feature of 2016 is the real lack of wine produced. To give a little more detail on the havoc that Mother Nature wreaked, not only was it a year where the frosts were widespread and hard, but it was a year where normal patterns simply didn’t prevail and the story was different everywhere we went. Unusually, it was the higher-elevation sites – the 1er and Grand Crus - that were struck the hardest, with the lower lying vineyards in some cases left completely untouched. And we heard stories of vineyards that had been completely wiped out but whose next-door neighbours had scarcely lost 10 or 15 percent of their crop. The mildew that beset the vines in the exceptionally humid Summer months was also erratic and much was decided by the prudent – or otherwise - timing of treatments. The only area that was uniformly hit was Chablis which was sadly almost entirely devoid of grapes following the worst frost since 1981.
Of the growers that Averys follow, Domaine des Beaumonts stand out as particularly lucky, not just in Morey but in the Cote d’Or as a whole. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Buffet in Volnay, whose 2016 Volnay Villages is all in one barrel compared to the normal twenty, Lamarche, whose volumes are down 50% overall and 80% in some vineyards, Jean Jaques Girard who lost half of their crop, Jobard , who lost up to 70% depending on the vineyard, or Dubreuil Fontaine who lost 80% of their Chardonnay in Pernand Vergellesses. The list goes on.
The good news for the Burgundy drinker is that, as highlighted at the beginning of this note, volumes in 2017 were good. Confidence is, at least partially, restored and whereas a year ago the mood could’ve been described as panicked in many cases, the 2016s have spent a year in barrel, the 2017s are safely in the cellars and growers have had a year to ruminate. The result is that price rises are, on the whole, moderate despite the fact that volumes of 2016 are so tiny.
Averys are also in the very lucky position of having many great and long relationships with growers from Gevrey to Chassagne. There is no doubting that wine is scarce but we have been able to secure at least some volume of almost all of wines that we selected. My advice though is to move quickly to ensure you receive the wines that you would like – for example we have just fifteen cases of Bachelet Monnot’s Puligny Montrachet (we had twenty-five last year) and just ten 6-packs of Voillot’s Volnay 1er Cru Fremiets (we had twenty last year). We also consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have some volume of Chablis from Domaine des Malandes to offer you, after Lyn Marchive and her team suffered significant damage in April.
There are two final points to make on the wines. The first is that in years when 1er Crus and Grand Crus are very badly damaged, it is often the case that there is not enough fruit from these vineyards to fill a barrel and instead, it finds it’s way into a domaine’s more humble cuvees, which then represent excellent value for money. A great example of this is Gouge’s delicious Nuits St Georges Villages. The second point is that low yields equal concentrated wines! Ok, I am talking in general terms, but on the whole, growers that we visited in October spoke of tiny yields (just 3hl/h in Buffet’s Volnay vineyards!) of grapes being harvested in perfect health. And these few grapes are absolutely packed with cherry and berry fruit in the case of the reds, and white peach, and ripe citrus fruits in the case of the whites. They will not disappoint.
If you would like to attend our tasting on the 17th January at the cellars - please follow this link
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