The 2002 vintage in the Côte d’Or
An excellent vintage

Features of the climate

Unlike other French wine producing areas, the vineyards of the Côte d'Or benefited from exceptional climatic conditions during 2002, marked by:
• A dry winter followed by a variable spring, but with good hot weather during the flowering.
• A rather dry summer, but without excessively high temperatures.
• A dry and clear month in September, with a North-East wind which concentrated the sugar without letting the acidity levels fall.

On the eve of harvesting, our Chardonnays and Pinots Noirs had reached very good maturity, thanks to careful yield control. The grapes were perfectly healthy and the alcohol degrees were particularly high, especially for the Pinots Noirs (up to 14° in Corton).

The harvest

We started harvesting on September 16th (the day the "Ban des Vendanges" / official permit) in sunny weather which lasted all week. Thanks to almost 300 pickers, split into several teams, we harvested our Domaines by choosing the ideal date for each parcel.

All the grapes were put into small, shallow cases to avoid any crushing or bursting of the fruit and on the arrival at the winery they were sorted on triage tables. But as they were very healthy, this was just in order to remove a few leaves.

Vinification and ageing

The red wines
The vinification was ideal, with the malolactic fermentations beginning in the Spring and finishing in late June. After racking, we chose to carry out barrel ageing on fine lees longer than usual in order to enable these very structured wines to enrich themselves.

The white wines
After the pressing, our Chardonnays were put into oak barrels where the alcoholic fermentations took place. Then the malolactic fermentations followed in the Spring, while the wines were still in barrels, on lees rich in yeast which were kept from the alcoholic fermentation. We have limited the amount of new oak in order to avoid marking these wines with too toasted and oaky flavours. Using less new oak has enabled us to have longer barrel ageing and to continue the batonnage until the beginning of the Summer. It was necessary to keep the wines longer on their lees to enable them to realise their full potential.

Our wines at the moment

Our red wines are showing a deep and lively colour with a great complexity of aromas on the nose. The wines are rich with fine tannins and are a perfect expression of their terroirs. Our philosophy of discreet use of new oak means that the fruit can express itself fully both on the nose and on the palate. The wines also have a good acidity on the finish, which will give them long ageing potential.

Our white wines are fresh and well-defined, with a remarkable aromatic purity and each of them has kept a very faithful expression of its terroir of origin.

In summary

Once again, we have seen that September is extremely important for the quality of the crop and that it can deliver very pleasant surprises. Contrary to most of the other French wine producing regions, Burgundy, and especially the Côte d'Or, benefited from excellent climatic conditions during the last period of maturation : indeed, it is thanks to the temperature increase from September 12th onwards and especially thanks to the North-East wind that the grapes reached perfect maturity and concentration, while staying very healthy and with a good balance between the sugar and acidity levels.

At present, indications are that 2002 will be a really great vintage in Burgundy, for both reds and whites.

November 2005