The weather is holding, so now it’s time to get serious. Here are a few early reports:

1. DOMAINE LOUIS CHENU ET FILLES
   We started this morning with (Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er) Les Talmettes. We did a grapes selection, we have very few rotten grapes, but we have to check maturity. I will let you know…It is very sunny and a bit cold, perfect weather for the harvest…
2. DOMAINE JOSEPH DROUHIN
   Today under this brilliant sunshine we pick a small parcel of (Beaune 1er) Clos des Mouches white and Chablis premier cru Secher, both have delicious, ripe grapes to eat…
   More to follow as harvest progresses!
3. REMOISSENET PÈRE ET FILS
   “Ici la Bourgogne Libre. Le retour du grand beau temps depuis le 14 septembre a d’ores et déja sauvé le millesime 2008. Nous avons décidé ce matin de repousser encore le debut des vendanges chez Remoissenet pour ne démarrer que le 1er octobre. Les rendements vont etre très bas . Une bonne acidité notamment malique pour un millésime inedit, de belle garde, aux antipodes des vins raplaplas…” [always a lot of style from Bernard!]

More to follow…

Even ‘nameplate’ domaines are starting to gird their loins and plan their first pickings – some are already picking. ‘My’ domaine starts on Thursday with Bourgogne Rouge – despite me not arriving until Saturday – they didn’t wait!

The weather is in a dry and bright window that is exactly what’s required to ripen the grapes, the fact that it’s a ‘late’ Autumnal cold outside means that rot is less rampant than previous years – of-course there’s time yet for anything to happen, but that northerly wind is exactly what the doctor ordered to help concentrate the grapes – much like 2002. Many grapes are anyway in need of picking – it’s already 105 days + since flowering. If the forecast turns bad, you will not be able to see the vines for people with secateurs!

I’m agnostic until I see the grapes (of-course), but I’m actually quite excited from a distance; that’s because I believe that pinot noir needs the highs and lows of temperature to bring out its full complexity – I’m just not sure if we had enough highs this year 😉

Quoted verbatim from the BIVB

“At 10 September, the grapes were continuing to ripen in the vineyards of Burgundy. The maturation stage was reached at the beginning of September. Maturation is when the grapes change colour (most visible on the Pinot Noir grape) before starting to ripen.
Since then, the grapes have been ripening nicely, increasing in sweetness and losing acidity. Consequently, the first grapes are unlikely to be cut (for still wines) before 20 September. Vineyards producing Burgundy Crémants (sparkling) could begin harvesting a few days earlier.
Quantity forecasts for the 2008 harvest are average: a little over 1.5 million hectolitres, according to estimates by the Technique and Quality Centre of the Interprofessional Bureau of Burgundy Wines. This is a level comparable to the two previous vintages. It is too early to judge the quality of this year’s vintage… for that we must wait for the results of the first vinifications!“

Yesterday was a day in the Côtes – well, Côte de Nuits anyway. Three super visits; two new domaines (Fougeray de Beauclair and JP & S Magnien), an update from an old contact (Comte Liger-Belair), lunch at the Table de Pierre Bourée and, of-course, a few bottles needed collecting 😉

“so far my vines are in great health, but that’s only because I didn’t take a holiday this summer”

Naturally you’ll be interested in the weather and the grapes: there had been heavy rain overnight and we had only 15°C for most of the day – it was forecast to be 12° on Saturday! Vignerons are not too concerned about the low temperature as odium will not grow when it’s so cold, but that’s provided there is some sun to continue the ripening process – the grapes need more sugar. The grapes themselves are generally in better health when compared to 2 weeks before the 2004, 2006 and 2007 harvests, but clearly some plots have already succumbed to rot.

Some producers are already saying that they may not start harvesting until October, others that they cannot go beyond 27th September because the grapes will be too rotten. All the vignerons though are crossing their fingers for the north wind and an end to the rain. My favourite quote was the one above!

Decanter:

“The 2008 Burgundy harvest will be smaller than last year, following a poor fruit set and hailstorms in the region.

Although insiders say it is too early to judge the quality of the vintage, regional trade body, the BIVB, said fruit set had been adversely affected by a cold and wet spring. “

Of-course many growers will tell you this was a good thing as the yields were ‘naturally’ reduced and they have much smaller berries with a higher solids to juice ratio. With another month to go, there’s no point second-guessing…

And from Clive Coates

August 9th. 2008 : HAIL IN SOUTHERN BURGUNDY

“The southernmost part of the Mâconnais and the northern sector of the Beaujolais suffered a devastating hail-storm during the night of Thursday 7th. August. Reports circulate of hail stones as big as tennis balls, not only knocking of what would have been this year’s harvest, but badly damaging the green shoots as well. As it is this year’s canes which will provide the wood on which next year’s harvest will develop, this damage may well compromise the 2009 vintage. We saw this in 2004/2005.

The storm seems to have centered on Saint-Verand. Juliénas, Saint-Amour, Chénas and Moulin-à-Vent in the Beaujolais, and Leynes, Pruzilly, Chaintré, Fuissé and Vinzelles in the Mâconnais are the worst-affected villages.

Back from the Côtes.

The weather was more than a little changeable; blue sky and 30°C Thursday, 22° and intermittent rain on Friday, indeed thunder in Savigny, but none in Beaune. This lack of consistency has been the only constant factor this year. The teams go out and spray against whatever they want to spray against – then 3 days later they have to do it again because the rain washes it away – of-course, then it rains again!

Still the vines are in rude health. It seems too early for mildew, but there is plenty of ‘millerandange’ of the grapes i.e. very small and sometimes uneven grape development – this year caused by a uneven (due to weather) flowering – this is potentially a good thing for quality, as such small berries have a higher solids to juice (mainly water) ratio.

UPDATE, From a local winemaking correspondent:

For the moment the mildew is pretty much confined to organic, or less-than-perfectly-conventionally-sprayed, vines in the plain. A picture of the mildew situation in the plain below Chambolle – shame my photographic skills aren’t up to much! It doesn’t show, but the young leaf top-left is also 100% infected. It’s a well-tended and often-sprayed vineyard too, farmed by a well-known organic domaine. I think the grapes are safe now, but they won’t get very ripe without leaves!

100 days from flowering to harvest is the usual rule of thumb, so those who want to plan a trip to the Côtes for harvesting, should pencil into their diaries September 20th and onwards.

I also tasted lots more 2007’s – but that’s another story…