This year’s harvest was already finished when we arrived for our wine tour in Burgundy earlier this season. In many places, also the fermentation. The harvest started already on August 16 for the earliest plots of crémant de bourgogne.
All the producers we met were happy and relieved. The quality is top-notch, and so is the volume. A large volume is really what is needed now in Burgundy after three lean years and with stocks starting to empty.
After a mild and dry winter, budding began in early April. Then it got colder, and there were four nights of frost between April 3 and 11. But luckily, the budding had not gone that far in most places, so the damage was limited. Then the spring weather came, and the growing season started, and already in May, the flowering started in some places. Overall, flowering was two weeks earlier than usual. The summer was hot and dry.
There were no problems with diseases, but in the first half of August, the lack of water meant that some vineyards developed more slowly. Rain was needed, and it came in mid-August.
The harvest was saved, and beautiful, healthy grapes could be picked. Pinot noir has good phenolic ripeness and a lot of colour.
