Clos des Rocs, a vintage for each year

Friday, the 8th day, the rays of the sun sculpt the silhouette of majestic Mont Blanc in shadow. Still as breathtaking as ever; it’s hard to tire of such a spectacle upon waking. The harvesters, meanwhile, emerge like zombies from their canvas cave: courage, it's the last day. Thus, my mood is mixed this morning, balanced but likely more in tune with the balance that the 2012 vintage will embody. Balanced between the need to share this rather stingy vintage and the fact that we harvested beautifully golden grapes of exceptional quality.

And it wasn’t a sure thing, as this vintage made us suffer from May to August. We were at the bedside of our vines, as we would have been beside a suffering loved one, sitting day and night with them, responding to every need and every distress. Supported by natural remedies, which were not enough, we had to caress them with our hands to provide the necessary love. We prepared to bury this vintage, but the unbearable premonition of mourning for a newborn drove us to double our efforts. So this morning, I am happy—happy with the work of my team of harvesters, young and dynamic, happy to have harvested under a generous sun, happy to have saved these magnificent grapes, even though they were so heavily attacked by Mother Nature.

A vintners' vintage, 2012 is characterized by remarkable acidity, body, and very fine bitterness.

As in 2007, spring was particularly warm and early. The first vine flowers appeared as early as May 6 in "Les Mûres"... The full bloom that occurred in mid-May suggested that harvesting could begin as early as the end of August! By early June, we were surprised by the shape and size of the future clusters. They were very loose, not tightly packed. The old vines partially "bled," but no parcel suffered from disease. The very dry weather during the three months of spring gave way to particularly rainy weather in July and early August. The grapes grew rapidly, and the clusters that appeared slender at the end of June became well-rounded. As we anticipated, we began the harvest very early, at the end of August!

2011 is an excellent vintage: with fruit, great definition of each terroir, and a beautiful balance between richness and acidity. Cheers!!

A rainy spring, sometimes devastating summer, and a salvatory autumn—2010 was undeniably a challenging vintage for us winemakers and also very variable from one village to another throughout the Mâconnais. Let’s focus on the case of Loché. After a mild winter, April was abnormally warm for two weeks. Then came a very rainy May. Flowering went more or less well, but the fertilization of the vine flowers was hindered by the excess water.

Then June arrived, pouring down tropical rains that drenched our slopes more than necessary. Our dismay and horror were palpable as the lovingly plowed earth from the day before slipped five meters lower. Let’s cheerfully shovel it back up! Then July struck, wreaking havoc on the few grapes that survived the poorly set flowers. The hailstorm affected Fuissé and Loché fairly evenly. In Leynes, not a single grape was left hanging, while in Vinzelles, half survived. To confirm an old winemaker's saying (hardened by past years): “Where a storm passes, others will pass all year,” three more hailstorms, less violent than the one on July 10, damaged a few more berries.

To summarize, July was hot and rainy, early August was humid and cool, followed by dry and sunny late August and September. The harvest took place from September 18 to 29. Yields are therefore very low, but fortunately, the quality is there and very present. It is an exceptional vintage, quite close to 2008.

Let’s not rush to classify a vintage. 2008 was unjustly devalued due to a rainy, cold spring and summer. In contrast, 2009 was quickly praised, barely after the first grapes had entered the cellar. It must be said that the climatic conditions were particularly favorable for producing perfectly healthy and ripe grapes. But once again, let’s be more nuanced: 2009 is a very good vintage, rich, fruity, and seductive. However, it is not a new "Vintage of the Century."

Let’s briefly recall the conditions we experienced in 2009 from the end of winter to the harvest. After a somewhat snowy winter, the bud break in April and the early flowering at the end of May went very well. A few thunderstorms punctuated a hot summer, very hot indeed in August. Three weeks of heatwaves accelerated the progress made in spring. The harvest was initially announced for mid-September, but we finally began on September 2! The grapes were beautiful, ripe, and perfectly healthy. In a word, the harvest was easy. The heat of August resulted in juices very rich in sugar and relatively low in acidity. However, thanks to the soil work that was done, the 2009 wines retain their freshness. A vintage of maturity, a vintage of pleasure. Simply enjoy 2009, which will likely be best tasted before 2008.

The press does not present 2008 as a great vintage in Burgundy. Yet, the whites are magnificent. From our young experience as winemakers, this is probably the best vintage we have ever vinified.

But let’s put it in context. After a rather mild winter, May and June were particularly rainy. The soils were so waterlogged that it was very difficult to get into the vineyards for treatments. The risk that all winemakers fear is, of course, downy mildew, which eventually arrived, more or less pronounced, on the inflorescences. Our vines “held on.” By the end of July, we arrived, tired but happy to have maintained beautiful, healthy grapes. The vines looked great.

However, a terrible storm from the West struck on August 7. In just 10 minutes, 50% of the grapes in our parcels in Loché were destroyed. The berries were marked by the impacts, but the foliage was only partially damaged, allowing the grapes to complete their maturation.

After a particularly rainy spring and summer, September was dry and sunny. We began the harvest on September 26 and finished on October 5. Once again, this vintage was saved by three weeks of northerly winds.

The wines are simply great—balanced, with lots of personality: minerality, fruit, length, acidity; it’s all there.

What a year it was! The spring was particularly mild, even warm. Temperature peaks (29-30°C) were reached in April rather than in July or August. The vines therefore budded and grew very quickly. For example, the leaves typically seen spreading in early May were already visible by April 10!! The very early flowering, which occurred between mid-May and late May (around June 10 in a normal year), indicated that the harvest would be particularly early! In the end, the summer was particularly cool, gray, and dreary in August. The vines remained magnificent with healthy, small-sized grapes. But would they ripen?

Fortunately, starting August 20, the anticyclone repositioned itself over Burgundy, the northerly wind rose, giving way to the sun and blowing for nearly 9 days. The temperatures rose. The vintage was saved.

We began harvesting on September 5 and finished on the 16th. The 2007 vintage is particularly "light," emphasizing fruit and minerality. The terroirs are perfectly defined and precise. In short, it is a refined vintage, to be kept until it fully reveals itself.

Another "Vintners' Vintage"! Indeed, the grapes could only reach full maturity, free from rot, if very rigorous work had been done in the vineyards (plowing, shoot thinning, training, hand cutting...). We like to say that the winemaker's work primarily takes place in the vineyard. Oenologists may always find tricks to "fix the soup," but great wines are only made from excellent grapes, which requires, it is true, a lot of attention, passion, and even sweat in the vineyard.

The particularly snowy winter in the Mâconnais allowed for the discovery of beautiful soils to plow (at the end of March), with the cold having done its work. The lovely month of July was followed by a rather rainy August. The grapes transitioned extremely quickly from the unripe stage to very ripe (or even rotten). The choice of harvest dates, parcel by parcel, was crucial to hit the ideal maturity as closely as possible. We began harvesting the earliest parcels on September 16 and finished on the 28th in the latest areas. 2006 is a vintage of fruit, character, and pleasure.

For the majority of winemakers, 2005 is an exceptional vintage. Indeed, we had ideal climatic conditions for the maturity of Chardonnay in Burgundy. The months of June and July were sunny, while August was rather cool and overcast but very dry. The grapes therefore did not suffer from the heat, and the soil's water reserves allowed the vines to endure a significant drought. By mid-September, the berries were magnificent, golden, and perfectly healthy. In short, a vintage to be recorded in the annals.

We began harvesting on September 15 and finished on September 30. The rather moderate yields resulted in sweet grapes with excellent acidity. The 2005 wines are thus rich, balanced, and elegant. Each terroir expresses the best of itself.

After the superlative 2003 vintage (the hottest and earliest in a long time), 2004 is shaping up to be a much more classic vintage, where terroir definition, fruit, and acidity harmonize and balance each other. The climatic conditions corresponded to seasonal averages, without excess or deficit. The relatively cool early spring mornings favored the development of powdery mildew (a vine disease affecting the grapes). This disease can quickly destroy the entire harvest if vineyard work (shoot thinning, aeration, training, treatments...) is not carried out with care and rigor. Therefore, we spent even more time in our parcels this year to support vine growth (through green work done exclusively by hand) in an airy configuration that was much less susceptible to this disease. Ultimately, we were able to harvest beautiful, healthy, and ripe grapes.

Another notable aspect of 2004 is the higher yields. The vines truly compensated for their water stress in 2003 by increasing the number of grapes in 2004. Once again, we had to impose moderate yields to extract the essence of the vintage.

In the memory of winemakers, it was a challenging year, but what a reward in the bottles. Cheers!