So it’s 7:15pm on the 24th September, looking west past the cross on the corner of Romanée Saint-Vivant the sun is already gone. You need something against the chill – it’s about 12°C with a sneaky breeze.

Despite all the vineyards around being harvested many days ago, there are so many grapes in the DRC vineyards that are still hanging – but they are for the birds!

The grapes appear more homogenous than 12 days ago when still there were many green bunches. I’m sure there could be a decent cuvée made from this lot, but these days your not allowed to pick your own – though the grapes from Romanée-Conti did tast rather nice!

Speaking with Etienne de Montille yesterday (who spoke with Aubert de Villaine on Saturday) DRC left something like 20% of the fruit on the vine after taking only that which was perfectly ripe. Doing a quick calculation based on the size of La Tâche, a rough €500 estimate per bottle and an even rougher 35hl/ha average yield, that’s close to 1 million Euro left on the vines – now that’s what you call commitment to quality! Also gives a hint to why it costs what it does.

Plenty of domaines harvested in August but some left it until September.

By the 12th 99% of the producers have finished, but for the Grand Cru’s of Vosne-Romanée, most still have lots of fruit on the vine, plenty also on the floor – as above in Romanée-Conti.

The yields were pitiful with 2-3 small bunches per vine – and yet still whole bunches were sacrificed in the ‘nameplate’ vineyards.

Looking across La Tâche 25.07.2003

Already two months of close to 40°C and another month of the same still to endure – praying for a little rain?

Still it’s a little cooler as we start September, but most vineyards are already cleared.

It seems that some vineyards have problems; the increasing sugars and decreasing acidity are usually a sign to begin harvesting – but the phenolics were still unripe. Many still harvested as they believed that no acidity would be left.

It will be – for sure – a fascinating vintage and certainly one to remember, though, despite the skills to be found in many domaines (where doubtless some superb wines will appear) I expect this to be a very heterogenous millesime . . . . .