The 2003 vintage in the Côte d’Or
An exceptional vintage
Features of the climate
The vineyards of Côte d'Or enjoyed exceptional conditions of drought and sunshine which had begun in February and lasted until the end of September.
All records were beaten : early maturity, drought, extreme temperatures, sunshine (9 consecutive days with temperatures around 40°C).
However numerous climatic incidents happened especially in the Côte de Beaune i.e some frosts in April, hailstorms in June and July and finally sun which burnt some grapes in South facing vineyards in August.
The yields were historically very low. Depending on the soils, the exposure and the age of the vines, they varied between 1/2 and 2/3 of a normal harvest.
The harvest and vinification
Given the atypical characteristics of this vintage, the "Ban des Vendanges" i.e. the legal authorisation to pick the grapes was given on August 19th in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. At Bouchard Père & Fils, we started on August 21st, which was the earliest date in the history of the company, since its creation in 1731.
Because of this, we had to ask employees who were on holiday to return to help and we quickly called upon all the local and regular pickers, who answered us with enthusiasm.
We started to harvest first in our vineyards in Beaune, where the grapes were extremely ripe, with a sugar content amounting to 13.5-14°. All our Domaines were picked in 10 days in dry and hot weather.
The grapes were perfectly healthy and at the sorting tables we rejected only a few berries which had been burnt by the sun.
Thanks to the cooling equipment we have in our winery, we managed to avoid the fermentations starting too quickly.
Our wines at the moment
Our reds have a superb, deep and slightly purple colour and on the nose they are showing flavours of very ripe red fruit. In the mouth, the acidity is quite low but the presence of very ripe tannins gives a good general balance. These wines are very rich, with great density and exceptional length.
Our whites have a pale gold colour with green shades and a very rich nose marked by aromas of very sweet whitefleshed fruit. In the mouth, they are developing flavours of citrus fruit and an impressive richness.
At the moment, our wines confirm an exceptional character in the greatest terroirs from a vintage that was climatically unprecedented.
November 2005
