Part 1

Part 2

On September 15, I arrived in the Cote de Nuits. Domaine des Lambrays had already finished the day before, having started the 9th. Bernard Dugat finished the evening I arrived, have started the 10th. The lowest degree sugar/alcohol for Dugat and Lambrays was 13.0, with the Champeaux of Dugat coming in at 14.3% natural and the Mazoyeres 14%. The Grand Cru at Lambrays was 13.5% natural. The following were the results for Philippe Collotte in Marsannay:

Bourgogne Noble Souche—13.8%
Marsannay Champsalamon—14.4%
Marsannay Vieilles Vignes—14.1%
Marsannay Clos de Jeu – 13.9%
Fixin Crais de Chene –14%  etc.

At Christian Serafin, with whom we have the privilege to begin working commencing with his beautiful 2007s, Christian stated to me that the Morey 1er Cru Millandes and the Gevrey 1er Cru Corbeaux were both 14.5% natural at harvest, and all his parcels came in near or over 14%. Cecile Tremblay’s lowest degree was for a parcel of Bourgogne, at 12.5%. Everything else was over 13%, with Chapelle over 14%.

Even more amazing than these levels of ripeness, were the pHs in combination with this sugar: Bernard Dugat had a pH of 3.08 as a low to 3.33 as his highest reading, and all others I visited reported levels to me between 3.2 and 3.4. I think it is safe to say that this combination of ripeness and potential acidity has not been seen in a long, long time. Growers had to go back to their grandfathers to find anything similar – maybe 1959; maybe 1947 or 1949. Maybe never before.

It is not, however, all roses (or rather perfect Pinots). There was an enormous amount of rain in mid-July (and hail). Only growers who worked quickly and non-stop in mid to late July accomplished something great. For others there was mildew, and even worse, oidium. One could see parcels so attacked by oidium that there were no ripe grapes. After that that “battle” in July the weather turned perfect – nothing but sunshine and heat, sometimes very high, from mid-July to September 19 (when there was only a light shower). Thus even those who harvested late (but harvested healthy grapes) will make superb wines.

I picked grapes a couple days (by then harvest was almost over) and what I saw was indeed truly amazing. The proof of this all, though, was in the juice – never have I tasted unfermented juice so perfect – already one could taste, with the juice from each separately vinified parcel, beautiful ripe rich fruit, distinctive terroir already expressed from each lieu, and the whole sensation wrapped in a silky smooth envelope on the palate. It is the same sensation that I recall when tasting the 2007 Chateauneufs for the first time. – Peter Weygandt – October 3, 2009

On September 15, I arrived in Burgundy and for a few days witnessed and participated in a very beautiful harvest there. The morning of September 16th, I heard on the weather news that the night before in Chateauneuf it had rained. I arrived in there mid-day on Friday the 18th. It had rained a little that morning and then it rained again that afternoon. On Saturday the 19th,it rained a little, over an area that stretched from Courthezon to Chateanueuf, but missed the northwest section of the appellation entirely. All told, the rains together totaled about 70-75 mm over 4 days, with the biggest coming the night of the 15th (around 60 mm).

Prior to this time there had not been any rain in Chateauneuf since mid-June (and then very little). July and especially August had been very hot. By late August some vines were showing stress. September turned cooler, which helped. Many growers started to pick around the 10th. In fact, many got their entire harvest of Chateauneuf in before the night of the 14th, when the first rain in 3 months came. These producers, depending on how much they had worked, produced, in many cases, wines of exceptional promise–great concentration and intense flavors that I tasted from the juice. The key was how much they had worked the soil, which had helped the vines mature and minimized any stress. For those who picked just because the grapes had high alcohol, their wines might not be successful (but I did not visit any domaine such as this). On the other hand, for those who had maturity (those who practice “bio” culture and who work the soil), the “First” harvest of 2009 should be exceptional.

Then comes the Second harvest: post September 15. Here there are two possibilities—those who started to pick right away the following Monday, and those who waited till the week of September 28. The week was significant because not only did it not rain for the rest of the month, but the weather was perfect–sunny days, cool nights, and starting the 21st, a week of mistral.

In this group I can report, from my own knowledge, Clos St. Jean, Stephane Usseglio, and Baptiste Grangeon for his Grenache in sandy soils (sand drains especially well). They did not start until the week of the 28th. These producers could possibly make extraordinary wines for several reasons–the skins on the grapes were very thick and hard when the rains came, so the skins never swelled (plus the vines were so starved for water that even the quantity that fell was not too much). The additional two weeks
enabled the vines to fully complete their maturation, boosted by re-started photosynthesis, and complete the softening of tannins. Finally, there was mistral and cool nights the last two weeks, to further concentrate the grapes, while preserving acidity.

Whereas Burgundy, Beaujolais, and the northern Rhône are unquestionably potentially great (and easy) harvests, 2009 has presented a fascinating scenario in Chateauneuf for comparisons that will surely go on for years–the Tale of Two Harvests of 2009.
– Peter Weygandt – October 1, 2009