Yesterday afternoon. Mainly Beaune Gréves but a little Toussaints and Bressandes to the right…
Obviously, some damage in Gevrey-Chambertin yesterday but the storms were extremely localised. The rest of the Côte d’Or was threatened – like Beaune above – but there was rarely more than occasional rumbles of thunder and a few spots of rain – unlike the 40mm of rain in just a few minutes that fell on the vines of Gevrey! Of course, there is damage here, which will compound the frost from April…
For me a trip to see the work (and what work!) that is underway at the Château de Pommard and then in the afternoon a chance to see the rare vine varieties that are being conserved in Beaune; Tressot Noir, Côt, Troyen, Gamay Castille or Oberlin Noir anyone? That latter variety the only one that was starting to flower – it was also the first (of these) in 2020 too.
As for flowering, in general; there are some early outliners in the vines – usually those in sunny spots, protected by walls – but it will be another week before the Côte d’Or really gets into the swing of flowering. Almost a week ago there were some flowerings in the ‘Americans’ as the locals describe the suckers that sprout from the American rootstocks – normally the proper flowering of the chardonnays and then pinots begins 10-14 days later…
For me, today will be a little typing, coffee drinking (terraces!), jogging and a visit to taste some Meursault…
