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M I L L E S I M E
2013
1
2013V I N T A G E
P r E S S P A c k
L E T T r E S D E c h â T E A u xM a r i e - S t é p h a n e M a l b e c12, rue d’Enghien - 33000 Bordeaux - [email protected] e l : + 3 3 ( 0 ) 5 5 6 4 4 6 3 5 0
c o N T E N T S
2 0 1 3 V i n t a g e i n B o r d e a u x ‘‘challenging, uneven, fascinating… and actually very good’’château castera, cru Bourgeois, Médocchâteau Talbot, Grand cru classé en 1855, Saint-Julienchâteau de Lamarque, haut-Médocchâteau Paveil de Luze, cru Bourgeois, Margauxchâteau Marquis de Terme, Grand cru classé en 1855, Margauxchâteau Belle-Vue, château de Gironville, crus Bourgeois, haut-Médoc and château Bolaire, Bordeaux Supérieur, haut-Médocchâteau cantemerle, Grand cru classé en 1855, haut-Médocchâteau Sénéjac, cru Bourgeois, haut-Médocchâteau de rouillac, Pessac-Léognanchâteau carbonnieux, Grand cru classé, Graveschâteau Fonplégade, Saint-Emilion Grand cru classéchâteau de Pressac, Saint-Emilion Grand cru classéchâteau Grand corbin, Saint-Emilion Grand cru classéchâteau canon Pécresse, canon Fronsac
2013 VINTAGE IN SAuTErNES AND BArSAc‘‘Exuberant, lively, full of vibrant fruit and beautifully balanced…’’château Guiraud, Grand cru classé en 1855, Sauternes
2013 VINTAGE IN côTES DE GAScoGNEDomaine d’Arton, côtes de Gascogne
2013 VINTAGE IN LANGuEDoc-rouSSILLoNVignobles Lorgeril, Languedoc-roussillonchâteau de caraguilhes, corbières
2013 VINTAGE IN ProVENcEchâteau Lauzade, côtes de ProvenceDomaine de Saint-Andrieu, côtes de Provence
2013 VINTAGE IN BourGoGNE‘‘Prodigious Bourgogne wines’’Maison Louis Jadot, Bourgogne
2013 VINTAGE IN chAMPAGNEchampagne Philipponnat
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M I L L E S I M E
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M I L L E S I M E
2013 i n B o r d e a u x‘‘challenging, uneven, fascinating…
and actually very good’’
The 2013 vintage in Bordeaux will go down as the one where winegrowers fought a running battle with the effects of unpredictable and erratic weather from start to finish.
From rain in spring to hail storms, coulure and cold spells, the entire vine cycle was unsettled right through to an unseasonably changeable harvest of sunny periods and days of rain. War was waged in the vineyard and then in the cellar.
“The most difficult vintage for 30 years”, said one owner in Léognan, thinking back to 1984. Another, somewhat ironically, described it as “a tricky vintage…to vinify” ‒ a sentiment surely shared by the majority of his colleagues. There will be endless comment about 2013 but there are some indisputable facts.
First, it was a small vintage, with low yields and low volumes. Production in the Gironde was, in fact, down by a sizeable one million hectolitres. Add to this the fact that many properties eliminated a high percentage of their harvest in order to only use their best vats in the Grand Vins, and it is not hard to see that there will be very limited quantities of certain Grand crus.
Second, it was a great year for white wines and there will be some stunning whites to come out of this vintage, whether they are dry or sweet. It was a good year too for Bordeaux rosés and clairets, which are very fresh and fruity with good body but relatively low alcohol.
Finally, the reds. True, most of the reds needed another two weeks of good sunshine to reach perfect ripeness. But, and this is the key to understanding 2013, ripening was so uneven from one plot to another and from one variety to another that many terroirs (early ripening ones or those that were better looked after) produced excellent results. Without comparing them to the glorious 2009S and 2010s, the best wines are certainly on a par with 2007 and 2011. They are the product of a testing year, where unusually unstable weather (even in Bordeaux’s mercurial maritime climate) was never going to allow winemakers to work miracles, but where progress in oenology and viticulture did help them make the very best of what Nature gave them.
Without a doubt the best wines will be from good terroirs, mainly those where the cabernet Franc and the cabernet Sauvignon suffered less from botrytis and benefited from late sunshine.There is an old saying in Bordeaux that if you want to spend wisely, “buy great wines in an ordinary year and ordinary wines in a great year”. It would be a big mistake to write off 2013 at a stroke because there will be many fresh, fruity wines that will give wine-lovers great value-for-money pleasure for early drinking.
M I L L E S I M E
2013
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c h â T E A u c A S T E r Acru Bourgeois, haut-Médoc
Jean-Pierre Darmuzey - Sales and Marketing Director
Vine CyCle
Although winter had been wet, as the first buds appeared in March nothing could have predicted just what a late year 2013 would turn out to be: weather conditions in spring
are certainly the most important feature of this vintage. Even at the end of June, the great and the good of the wine world that were gathered in Bordeaux for Vinexpo were first-hand witnesses to the cold and rain that was posing such a problem for flowering. The knock-on effect of this, of course, was a very extended veraison and despite lots of sunshine in July and a wonderful August, the provisional date for the beginning of the harvest was mid-october. The September rains and the outbreak of botrytis proved otherwise.
HarVest
We picked the first Merlot on october 2nd, in good condition, but we felt the imminent threat of botrytis in the vineyard. using our harvesting machines to full capacity, especially on the gravel soils, we were able pick before it arrived. As the volume was low, we were able to carry out maximum plot selection and had the time to sort the grapes minutely.
ViniFiCation
Strangely enough, for a vintage that had been problematic from the start, the fermentations took place without a hitch. We took the decision to ferment at low temperature (maximum 28oc) and to go easy on extraction. When the vats were run off and we saw how little volume and structure there was, we were proved right. The press wines, however, were surprisingly good and will allow us to fine-tune the texture of the 2013.
Wne style
i don’t think it’s a scoop to say that 2013 will not be a vintage for long bottle-ageing. that said, we have been remarkably surprised by just how good it is. the wines are fruity, supple and very fresh, while the alcohol level is back to normal for Bordeaux, at around 12.5% abv. 2013 is a ‘transition’ vintage, to enjoy while the great ones of recent years reach maturity.
Vintage reminisCent oF?
… Depends who you ask. I’ve been amused to find that age is a key factor here. Younger members of the trade say they haven’t seen a vintage like this one since 2002 or even 1997. The ones with a bit more experience cite 1993 or 1992. For those with longer memories it’s a blend of 1987 and 1984, while elder statesmen and women talk of 1977, or 1972, or even 1963.
Personally, I don’t think any one vintage really resembles another. For me, 2013 is truly ‘extraordinary’ in every sense of the word - and I really hope it’s a one-off.
January 2014
M I L L E S I M E
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c h â T E A u T A L B o TGrand cru classé en 1855, Saint-Julien
christian hostein - Vineyard Manager
Wine growers can be pessimistic folk. They fear and expect the worst until, when the harvest is safely in and they are rewarded for their efforts, broad smiles replace the
frowns and the trials and tribulations of the year are forgotten. Not in 2013.
Last year pride came before a fall. Even up to the end of September we thought the harvest would be small but good. We forgot our apprehension about the coulure that occurred in mid-June and which had affected the Merlot (badly) but cabernet Sauvignon as well and left us with about half the normal crop. We should have remembered that but we were duped by the bunches, which were perfectly spaced (largely thanks to good canopy management, especially leaf-thinning) but sadly hollow. So what next? We had to make as good a wine as possible with a small, spurious harvest.
We have just finished running-off the vats and it is now clear that we are talking about half the normal volume of wine. Although the Merlot is disappointing, the cabernet Sauvignon, which is the mainstay of the vineyard, is good and will be at the heart of the blend. The new barrels are ready to be primed with water but they will remain empty this year ‒ at least there’s plenty of storage space in our newly renovated cellar.
Tasting the wines just after running-off has confirmed that there is plenty of fruit, which is still a bit on the tart side but should benefit from the malolactic fermentation. The press wines will play a useful role in adding structure and body and the selection and ageing of these will be will crucial. The 2013s will be light, elegant and easy-to-drink.
As for that disastrous coulure, which hasn’t had such an impact on volumes since 1984. Its origins lie in the successive bands of rain and cold weather fronts that swept the region from the beginning of the vine cycle, allowing budding to take place normally but then holding back the vines right though flowering. This began on June 16th, which is record-breakingly late for Talbot.
The rain continued until July, which was hot and followed by a sunny, dry August – warm but not excessively so. September, too, was warm but unfortunately stormy. This inevitably led to the spread of rot and the need to bring forward the harvesting of the Merlot, which are so at risk in such conditions. It was all hands to the pump and a race against the clock after the weekend of September 28th to 29th, when there was a violent outbreak of botrytis. once the Merlot was in, we picked the cabernet Sauvignon as fast as possible, focusing first on the heart of the plateau and finishing on october 14th with the plots on the western side of the vineyard. It had been a close call but the grapes were in very good condition.
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our prized cabernet Sauvignon is good and the Petit Verdot, picked mid-harvest, at break neck speed, shows remarkably pure, varietal character and will play a key role in the blending of the Grand Vin.
The white varieties fared pretty well this year and ripening accelerated dramatically in September. The Sauvignon Blanc is very fresh and aromatic, with lots of white peach notes. The Sémillon is rich and concentrated; it will be excellent at the end of the year.
We have just finished autumn ploughing and next week we will begin pruning. The vines will now lie dormant for the long winter months, when the hope of a new harvest will begin.
FIrST BuDSMarch 29th
MID FLoWErING:June 16th
hArVESTING DATESWhite : 2 sortings September 19th and 20th
September 26th and 27th
red : Merlot noir octobre 1st to 4th
cS plantes october 4th to 7th
cS Plateau october 8th to 10th
PV october 8th to 10th
cS Lalande october 10th to 14th
rAINFALL: January: 166 ml - February: 78 ml - March: 59 ml - April: 47 ml - May: 100 ml
June: 120 ml - July: 42 ml - August: 33.5 ml - September: 81 ml - october: 71 ml November: 100 ml en cours
november 19th 2013
M I L L E S I M E
2013
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c h â T E A u D E L A M A r q u Ehaut-Médoc
Marie-hélène and Pierre-Gilles Gromand d’Evry - co-owners
We shouldn’t be too quick to make sweeping generalisations about 2013. It was,
without doubt, a very small harvest and it was certainly a difficult one. Such uneven
weather patterns as we saw last year required winegrowers to adapt, make choices and
draw on their experience and determination. All these things invariably mark out one
estate from another but there is one another crucial factor: the structure and health of the
soils- and this means that hasty, generalised conclusions are a mistake.
At château de Lamarque our two major preoccupations were the coulure in spring and
the problems of rot spreading through the vineyard due to the weather in September.
But, although the weather was somewhat anarchic in 2013, there were actually generous
amounts of sunshine and the required minimum temperatures. While there is no getting
away from the fact that conditions during the harvest were unsettled, the care we took of
our vines all year long, and the decisions we took, meant that the grapes finally ripened
evenly and early.
The amount of coulure undoubtedly had an impact on volume, but it did not hit the
entire vineyard and so we actually green harvested on certain plots to ensure we got the
best quality possible. By the beginning of August it was patently clear this was going to
be a very small harvest and, consequently, likely to be an early-ripening year with good
concentration.
It’s possibly interesting at this point to remember that we have been using the cousinié
method at château de Lamarque for more than 20 years. Named after the Narbonne
agronomist, Jean-Pierre cousinié, who acts as a consultant to a large number of leading
estates in Bordeaux and throughout the world, the method is based on the premise that
the more the soil is nutritionally balanced, the less one needs to treat the crop. cousinié
himself frequently refers to the demonstrations of Dr Arden Andersen, which show that
sick plants come from soils that are unstructured, unbalanced and lacking it vital natural
nutrients. In other words: the soil has to function properly.
As convinced practioners of the cousinié method, we took two major decisions last year:
1. No treatment against botrytis on the young cabernet Sauvignon vines and none on the
Merlot or the Petit Verdot - i.e. 60% of our vineyard was not treated against rot.
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M I L L E S I M E
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2. Following analysis of the grapes at the end of August, we gave the vines a potassium
leaf- feed to ensure the plants had the correct magnesium / potassium balance. In fact,
if the balance is good or, better, perfect, this type of feed during the ripening period gives
earlier, optimal, all-round ripeness. Anti-botrytis treatments, on the contrary, prolong the
vegetative life of the vine and delay ripening, pushing back the harvest. And, as we know,
the later we harvest when the weather is changeable, the riskier it gets.
obviously, we are aware that not everyone adheres to the theory that spraying crops
against rot prolongs the vegetative phase but we happen to believe it strongly.
The decisions above were essential in responding to the very challenging conditions of
2013. We have to make it clear that we are not organic producers but we do not use weed
killers (only ploughing) and we never treat our vines preventatively. our main priority is to
safeguard the soils and maintain their nutritional balance at all costs.
The analysis of the first vat of Merlot, harvested on September 26th, showed:
Alcohol: 13.5 - ph: 3.39 - Total Acidity: 3.36
hArVESTING DATES:
Merlot: September 26th to october 2nd (not continuously)
cabernet Sauvignon: october 3rd to october 10th (not continuously)
Petit Verdot: october 10th and 11th
As in 2012, we harvested by hand and by machine, using one of the latest generation of
machine harvesters, with a de-stemming function so as not to tear the berries. We needed
an additional, skilled, ‘rapid response task force’ to pick the grapes in good condition but
at maximum ripeness and we also needed extra sorting capacity in the vineyard and at
the winery. This was helped enormously by the fact that in 2012 we invested in an optical
sorting table (Defranceschi x-TrI as used by our neighbours at La Lagune, Leoville Las
cases …). The machine combines speed with a very high level of selection, as the cameras
can analyse the level of chlorophyll against a given figure.
In 2013, we were able to pick, stop and start again at exactly the pace we wanted, the aim
being to blitz a plot according to the grape variety, soil and location.
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Vinification was relatively easy: no problems with the alcoholic or malolactic fermentations.
The grapes were then spun and pressed twice.
The gross yield over 37 hectares of vineyard was 32 hl/ha, giving 28.5 hl/ha net (12% of
the grapes were discarded after sorting by x-TrI).
Final analysis: Alcohol: 13° - IPT: 65-102 - Acidity: 3.4
overall: good balance
With the help of consultant oenologist, Eric Boissenot, we will produce 75% of our Grand
Vin, château de Lamarque, 20% of our second wine, Donjon de Lamarque, and 5% of
our saignée rosé wine, ‘Zero’.
The blend in château de Lamarque 2013 will be: 45% cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot
and 10% Petit-Verdot. The small remaining of amount of cabernet Franc on the estate as
well as the young Merlot will go into Donjon de Lamarque.
The wine went into barrel from mid-November until the end of the year. 100% of the
harvest is being barrel-aged. We are using five French coopers and a medium chauffe.
45% of the oak is new, 40% has been used for one vintage and 15% has been used for
two vintages.
château Lamarque 2013: very deep garnet red, nose still quite closed. Black fruit aromas
and oak from barrel-ageing. Well-balanced and good structure on the palate. Dense,
concentrated with fine tannins and good fruit. Good length.
A wine that reflects the efforts made at Lamarque during the whole of 2013 in the vineyard,
in the choices made at harvest time, and in the classic approach to its vinification.
February 2014
M I L L E S I M E
2013
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c h â T E A u P A V E I L D E L u Z Ecru Bourgeois, Margaux
Frédéric de Luze - owner
There hasn’t been a vintage as complicated as 2013 for years. According to my father, you
would have to go back to the 1970s to find similar conditions. 30 years on, however,
viticulture has changed. Today, we have techniques at our disposal (increasingly more
effective) to help create the necessary conditions for quality wines.
After the cold, wet spring, difficult flowering and the constant threat from disease all summer
(mildew and powdery mildew, in particular) we knew there was every chance yields would
be very low.
our vineyard manager, Stéphane Fort, worked tirelessly in the vines to make sure they were
in the best possible condition and we pulled out all the stops to protect them. We visited
each plot every day and it was this that meant we were ready to harvest 10 days earlier than
we had forecast and, managed to head off the botrytis.
We began picking the Merlot on the gravel plateau on September 27th. Yields were low
- down 50% - but the potential alcohol levels were very high. The next day, the weather
was torrid. We continued picking but there were so few grapes that filling a vat took an
eternity. Then, around 5pm, came one of the most violent storms I have ever seen; more
like Guadeloupe than the Gironde. Lightning struck the property of one of our neighbours
and we saw one of his buildings catch fire. At the same instant, another neighbour was hit
by hail. What else could Nature throw at us?
on Sunday September 29th, there was no rest. rain was forecast for 5pm, so we worked
flat out to fill the vat.
on october 1st and 2nd we stared the Merlot and brought in the cabernet Sauvignon from
the Palue at the same time. A day later, the Merlot on the clay plots was perfect …and there
were plenty of it!
From october 4th to 9th we harvested the cabernet Sauvignon, which, to our surprise, was
plentiful and concentrated.
We cut down maceration time and ran off the vats quickly so that the wines went into barrel
rapidly.
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At our tastings with Stéphane Derenoncourt and Simon Blanchard, we were happy to
discover:
- Supple, generous and very fruity Merlot, with fine tannins.
- Very floral, spicy cabernet Sauvignon with a taught, tannic structure and good length.
We’re now looking forward to the primeur tastings in April… we think Paveil 2013 has some
surprises in store.
January 2014
M I L L E S I M E
2013
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c h â T E A u M A r q u I S D E T E r M EGrand cru classé en 1855, Margaux
Ludovic David - Director
2013: IT WAS... coMPLIcATED
Winegrowers and winemakers have a habit of saying that every vintage has a certain
personality, each one has its own story and that each wine is different.
2013 was extraordinarily complicated. In 25 years of winemaking in France - Bordeaux,
Pomerol, Saint Emilion and Margaux - and in South Africa and california, I have never
experienced a vintage that had so many questions and uncertainties surrounding the
harvest. The challenge was to square the circle, to find a solution to an equation that had
numerous variables, with one objective: to produce a Grand Vin.
The list of difficulties that we met over the course of 2013 is long and fairly demoralising: a
cold, wet spring, coulure, uneven grape size, downy and powdery mildew, delayed ripening,
a growing presence of grey rot and, to cap it all, a very low yield per hectare, with ensuing
financial repercussions. one would have to go back decades, to another century, to find a
comparable «perfect storm».
The weather leading up to the harvest was changeable, to say the least, and when we finally
decided to pick, ripening was late and there was a significant threat of disease. We tried
in vain to track the weather fronts and anticyclones sweeping across Europe but things
never stabilised. Every morning we hesitated between speeding up the pace of picking or
stopping it altogether. The Merlot was brought in from october 2nd to 4th, the Petit Verdot
on october 8th and 11th and finally the cabernet Sauvignon from october 8th to 15th.
I like to remind our team that «we celebrated the end of the harvest on the day that we had
intended to start it» - a perfect illustration of the fact that winegrowers have to adapt to
the vagaries of the weather and every other factor in the vines’ development every year to
produce the best wine possible.
2013 was a year of challenges, of big decisions and the need for meticulous care at the
technical level. rarely have the words «selection» and «attention to detail» been so
appropriate.
But what can we expect in terms of quality?
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M I L L E S I M E
2013
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All the care and attention we habitually give the vineyard had its effect on the grapes: the
removal of excess foliage, the controlled use of fertilizer, the reduced use of treatment
products, the environmentally friendly management of the plots and the selection and
sorting during the harvest. In other words, the alchemy of the deep gravel soil and the
meticulous techniques applied to the vines are invariably deciding factors in the quality of
our wines and certainly played their part in 2013.
In addition, the recent investments we have made, particularly the improvement of our
system for receiving and sorting the harvest in the winery, mean we have precise control
over the grapes going into the vats. There can be no doubt, also, that improvements in
vinification methods, with gentler, more natural techniques, have enabled us to reduce
mechanical processes and to optimise the texture and silkiness of the tannins. In short,
work carried out over the last 20 years to improve vineyard management and progress our
oenological approach has enabled us to enhance the expression of château Marquis de
Terme’s magnificent terroir.
And this, our Margaux terroir, is probably the most important thing of all, because once
again Nature has reminded us that far from becoming an industrial product, wine remains
rooted in agriculture. Each vintage, it takes its character from the soil and it is this that gives
it the historical and cultural dimension that we strive to protect.
Nature may well have brought us to heel this year but we rose to the challenge of maintaining
quality at all costs. Now in the vats, this pleasant, supple vintage is in the process of integrating
freshness and balance. It will be a vintage to lay down in the medium term, providing an
excellent opportunity to taste the property’s recent great vintages of 2009, 2010 and 2011,
while we leave 2013 to develop in peace.
November 2013
M I L L E S I M E
2013
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châTEAu BELLE-VuE ET châTEAu DE GIroNVILLEcrus Bourgeois, haut-Médoc
châTEAu BoLAIrE, Bordeaux SupérieurJean-Michel Marle - Director
I suppose it all really began in May and June: the weather was cold and rainy and flowering was late. Then came summer and things were looking up: it was dry and it was sunny.
2013 was going to be a late harvest, certainly, but we were not unduly worried. Little did we know…
We began picking on September 27th with the Merlot, of course, in almost tropical weather and with the permanent threat of rot. While the Wine Fairs were in full swing in the shops, at Belle-Vue and Gironville in the southern part of the haut-Médoc, we were dodging the showers, scanning the sky for a glimmer of sun and doing our best to get maximum ripeness. ok, it wasn’t going to be a Merlot year but that was fine because we’d picked in time and the fruit was there. Job done.
cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are key to our three wines and I’m happy to say they fared much better, thanks in large part to the pickers, who had honed their skills on the Merlot. Plot after plot, day after day, they harvested excellent grapes - fewer than in some recent vintages but packed with colour and punch. To cap it all, right at the end, the sun came out. There were smiles all round as the vats began the pre-fermentation maceration. The first act of the drama that was 2013 ended with the final picking, as always, of the Petit Verdot at Bolaire. It was mission accomplished but it had been a close call and a stormy year in every sense of the word.
As the fermentations got underway, the old adage of ‘show me the quality of the vats and I’ll show you the quality of the bottles’ was never truer, but whatever 2013 finally produces, my hat goes off to all the growers, large and small, who doggedly worked their plots day after day, pruning, tying up and trimming, hail rain or shine, as they do every single year.
VINE cYcLE
Late budding meant the cycle was delayed from the start and although there was plenty of manna on the vines, a drop in temperatures, together with the onset of rain in spring, slowed vine growth significantly.
rain was a particular problem when the Merlot was in flower, reducing its yield considerably. As summer passed, alternating periods of sunshine and storms meant keeping a constant eye on the condition of the crop and managing the risk of disease right up the harvest, which like the rest of the year was ‘intense’ due the rain and then the spread of botrytis
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hIGhS AND LoWS
• Cold wet weather in spring.• Widespread millerandage (partial shatter).• Heavy rain during most of the harvest.• Being able to successfully set the dates for picking at optimum maturity levels.
hArVEST
From September 27th to october 18th. Although picking was fast and almost continuous, the occasional day’s break gave us the chance to wait for the cabernet and Petit Verdot to ripen a little more.
kEY FEATurES oF 2013
2013 has a lot in common with 2012: both late years with millerandage and hail. There was a question mark over the vintage from spring onwards and despite good bunch formation, initially, the cool wet weather during flowering resulted in serious coulure and millerandage. There was plenty of sun and warmth in the summer months but there were also some storms that continued to reduce the potential of this harvest. Finally, rain during picking meant the grapes developed late in size and ripeness and there was an unusually extensive spread of botrytis.
WINE STYLE
Lighter, less tannic wines than usual with less depth of colour than in previous years.Ageing will be less intense, with softer, lighter oak-ageing to bring out the fruit and respect the lacy structure of the wines.
VINTAGE rEMINIScENT oF?
2008 and 2012.
oVErALL
In the words of consultant, Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen:“2013 was a demanding vintage, requiring a lot of energy and technical skill to get the best of our terroirs.”
January 2014
M I L L E S I M E
2013
16
By mid-April, hopes were high for a good vintage: manna on the vines was abundant
and the water tables had risen well throughout the winter.
Then came the dismal spring which slowed down the vines’ development and resulted in
very uneven ripening in the second half of June. At that point, the vines were at least two
weeks behind where they should normally have been at this stage in the cycle.
on the other hand, July and August were glorious and played a determining role in the
structure of the 2013s. Day after day of hot sunshine in July gave the vines a chance to make
up for lost time, while August brought wonderful anticyclone conditions of high pressure,
which lasted into the first two weeks of September. After that, we had hot, humid quasi-
tropical weather that forced us to advance the harvest date by a week.
Picking began on September 28th and for the most part we picked in the rain - very
reminiscent of harvesting in the 1990s! In conditions like this, you have to act fast, be
organised and be well equipped - when an outbreak of grey rot is imminent there is no time
to lose.
our schedule was determined by inspection of each plot. Sorting in the vines and at the
cellar door was vital but I really think it was the speed at which our teams got to work in the
vineyard that saved the day.
on the whole we have been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines, which
have good colour, very attractive fruit aromas and nice body and structure. Preserving the
character of the fruit and the finesse of the tannins is now the priority for this vintage - in
which which we still have great faith.
February 2014
c h â T E A u c A N T E M E r L EGrand cru classé en 1855, haut-Médoc
Philippe Dambrine - Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
17
My take on 2013 would be that first impressions are often the best.
At the end of the green-pruning and leaf-thinning we comforted ourselves with the fact
that there seemed to be twice as many cabernet Sauvignon bunches as Merlot.
however, once we began to harvest the first plots of cabernet it became very clear that our
optimism had been misplaced and somewhat illogical, since during flowering (from June
12th to June 20th at Sénéjac) temperatures had been constantly low and there had been
90mm of rain in only 8 days.`
So the Merlot were subject to extensive coulure and the cabernet were also affected: in
short about half of our normal crop was still left on the vines.
It wasn’t all bad news. July and August delivered real summer weather - hot, sunny and dry.
But then September brought storms, which was good news for mushroom pickers who
were collecting them by the bucketful but not so good for wine growers only 3 weeks away
from the harvest.
Not surprisingly, botrytis set in with a vengeance and we were forced to bring forward the
harvest date for the Merlot, then went straight on to pick the cabernet Sauvignon.
hArVESTING DATES:
Merlot: September 29th to october 2nd
cabernet Franc: october 5th
cabernet Sauvignon: october 7th to 10th
Petit Verdot: october 11th
rAINFALL:
January: 125 mm - February: 89 mm - March: 59 mm - April: 41.5 mm - May: 109 mm
June: 138 mm - July: 67 mm - August: 23.5 mm - September: 74.5 mm
october: 116.5 mm - November: 145 mm
December 2013
c h â T E A u S é N é J A ccru Bourgeois, haut-Médoc
Damien hostein - Technical Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
18
VINTAGE 2013: kEEP TAkING DEEP BrEAThS…
I hardly know where to begin to describe 2013. The cold, wet winter and spring threw our
work schedule into confusion and our peace of mind out of the window. We were constantly
revising our forecasts, especially after flowering, which took place in… how should I put it…
not exactly the best conditions.
Fortunately, summer brought some respite. July and August were hot and dry ‒ except for
one day, just the one, which saw a hailstorm come a little too close to rouillac and leave a
trail of damage in part of the vineyard.
Looking back, today, and with the blending to come, it doesn’t seem so bad. The wines have
plenty of fruit and will offer lots of delicious, early-drinking. We can smile wryly and say that
that’s life – well the life of a wine grower, anyway. Never a dull moment.
There is just one thing that we can’t quite get out of minds and that is the unique, exceptional
character of this vintage. We worked hard all year to see a few precious barrels in the cellar,
which has left us with the feeling that there is something not quite finished about 2013. We
will have to get over it and I‘m sure we will when another year begins and we start afresh.
We’ll just keep on taking deep breaths.
February 2014
c h â T E A u D E r o u I L L A cPessac-Léognan
Laurent cisneros - owner
M I L L E S I M E
2013
19
2013 - A GooD YEAr IN SPITE oF SPrING
Post-harvest and Early Vinification report
We began the harvest with the very early and very aromatic Sauvignon Blanc on September
9th i.e. 12 days later than in 2012. After this, as the levels of ripeness were good and the
weather, unpredictable, we picked all the varieties without interruption to preserve the
flavours. We brought in more pickers and set up a second team of sorters at the vat house,
which meant that the final crop was in perfect condition. harvesting ended at noon on
october 10th.
Like all late vintages, 2013 will produce some great white wines. Low yields (down 30% on
2012) allowed us to harvest at optimum maturity and fermentation took place in excellent
conditions:
Average kinetic fermentation: 8j
Average abv: 12.8%
Acidity: 4.7 g/l
The red wines have undergone 3 to 4 weeks of vatting and it is clear from the quality of the
different plots that 2013 will be very much in line with the classic, Bordeaux vintages, such
as 2008, with fruit, structure and length:
Average abv: 13%
Acidity: 4 g/l
Anthocyanins: 900 mg/l
November2013
c h â T E A u c A r B o N N I E u xGrand cru classé, Graves
Eric et Philibert Perrin - owners
M I L L E S I M E
2013
20
c h â T E A u F o N P L é G A D ESaint-Emilion Grand cru classé
Eloi Jacob - Director
VINE cYcLE
Although cold, damp conditions in spring, with little sunshine, resulted in late budding, late flowering and extensive coulure in the Merlot, the vines made up some ground thanks to hot, sunny weather in July and August. September and october were mild and humid, however, and this put pressure on growers to move the picking date forward. I’m pleased to say that our organic vines had all reached phenolic maturity by the time we did harvest.
hIGhS AND LoWS
highs:• A warm summer that helped make up for a slow start to the year.• Coulure or shatter that is usually a negative but was beneficial in 2013 as it meant air circulated better in the open bunches.• The use of organic farming methods that resulted in earlier ripening.Lows:• Heavy spring rain. • A warm, damp autumn that pushed us into picking early because of the threat of rot. hArVEST
We picked from September 27th to october 4th. The harvest was early and over quickly due to the threat of rain. optical sorting ensured we only kept the ripe berries.
kEY FEATurE oF 2013
2013 will be remembered for one of the most important features of terroir: climate! WINE STYLE
Very fruity, balanced and easy-to-drink, with supple tannins.
VINTAGE rEMINIScENT oF ?
2001
oVErALL
2013 is not a bad vintage but it was a complicated one. Fortunately, today, we have a number of techniques at our disposal (de-leafing, green-harvesting, mechanical and optical sorting…) to get the best out of any vintage. The key is having the nerve to wait for optimum ripeness and reacting fast if you need to pick quickly.
January 2014
M I L L E S I M E
2013
21
2013 WAS A TouGh oLD YEAr
The cold and damp that lasted right through flowering had two consequences: • First, widespread coulure in older vines. The vineyard at Pressac is still fairly young so we probably suffered less than our neighbours, bringing in around 30 hl/ha.• Second, very uneven ripening in the bunches and even within a single bunch.
The threat from mildew and grey rot was intense and required constant care. Spraying equipment had to be of the highest spec and we were glad of the two new crop sprayers bought at the beginning of the year. Thanks to them, the leaf canopy remained in perfect condition.
After all this came a severe hailstorm on August 2nd that missed us by only a kilometer. We were only slightly hit but the berries that were damaged never ripened.
Fortunately, a great summer, with warm, sunny weather in July and August helped matters no end and this, together with intense work in the vineyard by a team of 25 people, de-leafing and cleaning-out (basically removing green and rotten parts of each bunch, one by one, over 200km of vine rows), meant that we could wait for the pips to ripen.
In fact, we were able to wait to start picking until october 4th and continued until the 18th, more or less avoiding any rot. We picked by hand, using small shallow crates to transport the crop and eliminated the less ripe grapes (around 30%!) by using an optical sorting table for the first two days, then moving on to a density table (much more effective this year than in 2012). The result was costly but oh so rewarding!The discarded berries were sorted a second time and we were able to recuperate half (approximately 15%) for the second wine. The remaining 15% were discarded.
To get a precise idea of the 2013 vintage we need to wait until the malolactic fermentations are over and we will certainly be selecting vats very carefully for the Grand Vin. At the moment, however, things are looking very good. We will only be making half of our usual quantity of château de Pressac (15 hl/ha) but the quality should be very good indeed.
Phew!
November 2013
c h â T E A u D E P r E S S A cSaint-Emilion Grand cru classé
Jean-François quenin - owner
M I L L E S I M E
2013
22
For everyone in Bordeaux, spring 2013 was depressingly chilly and wet. In spite of plenty of
buds and lots of cases of inflorescence (a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem), the
weather made growth in the three first months of the vine cycle extremely difficult. It was
clear that 2013 was going to be what producers call a ‘technical vintage’: for example, the
constant threat from disease and parasites (mildew, oidium, grape worm) meant we had to be
constantly vigilant and spray with precision.
conditions during flowering, of course, led to heavy coulure in the Merlot but thankfully the
cabernet, which flower later in Saint-Emilion, were less affected. on another positive note, the
hot, sunny, summer weather helped the grapes make up some ground and pushed ripening
on.
We initially forecasted the harvest for around october 5th but were forced to bring this forward
by a good week and picking actually began on September 27th and ended on october 10th.
The risk of botrytis spreading was high and we had to bring the grapes in in the best condition
possible. The rain didn’t help matters and we increased the number of pickers and sorters to
keep ahead of the rot.
After all that, I’m happy to say that the wines that are now in barrel are elegant and have good
fruit. The way we age the wine this year will be key to preserving the freshness and fruit in our
Grand corbin 2013, which, for me, will be a good wine for medium ageing.
February 2014
c h â T E A u G r A N D c o r B I NSaint-Emilion Grand cru classé
charles cruse - Estate Manager
M I L L E S I M E
2013
23
ArT AND NATurE?
There are wine-grower vintages and there are wine-maker vintages. For several years
now there have been so many wine-grower vintages that we have almost begun to take
it for granted that the grower, the vigneron, is pre-eminent. But have we placed too much
confidence in Nature?
2013 was a year when the wise men of wine - the oenologists, the consultant winemakers -
stepped in to try and correct the caprices of the climate. With raw material that was difficult
and frustrating to work with, the best of these artists created pleasing, satisfying, successful
wines - or maybe we should say works of art?
At canon Pécresse, Stéphane Derenoncourt took an uninspiring crop of grapes and coaxed it,
crafted it into producing an elegant wine with sophisticated minerality. canon Pécresse 2013
is a bit like sullen, misbehaved student, who no one thinks will pass the exam… and then he
does. Might not come top of class but is certainly worthy of a merit.
Yes, 2013 was quite a year but that is what probably makes the result all the more pleasing. And
how many other years have been decried and written off prematurely, only to be reappraised
ten, even twenty years later?
The team at canon Pécresse certainly have every confidence in the future of their 2013.
March 2014
c h â T E A u c A N o N P é c r E S S EFronsac
Jean-Francis Pécresse - owner
M I L L E S I M E
2013
24
à S a u t e r n e s‘‘Exuberant, lively, full of vibrant fruit
and beautifully balanced...’’
“Exuberant, lively, full of vibrant fruit and beautifully balanced…”was the unanimous
verdict on the 2013 vintage in Sauternes and Barsac, after a tasting of all the Grands
crus classés wines at château Guiraud on March 11th 2014. Does this smack of self-satisfaction?
Well, possibly but that is because producers there think 2013 is a really terrific year.
As everywhere, the spring rains certainly affected flowering. however, the wet spring was
followed by fine, dry (but not excessively so) weather in July and August and the warm, humid
autumn that followed was ideal for an early and even development of botrytis.
The early stages of the harvest were particularly promising. conditions were perfect for an
excellent vintage and five days of high temperatures from September 22nd to September
26th led to rapid concentration in the pourries nobles grapes.
harvesting began in the last week of September. The second and third selective pickings or
tries took place between october 8th and october 25th,, slowed down by the rains which
came at the beginning of the month. The competence and the speed of the harvesting teams
was a crucial factor in this vintage, where an experienced eye was needed to select the berries
and a rapid response was required to keep up with the botrytis and levels of concentration.
2013 was a vintage where producers in Sauternes and Barsac felt they were the lucky ones.
The weather in the south of the Gironde was kind to them, as in 2007, which was, albeit, a
very different year.
The 2013 wines are vibrant with aromatic yet elegant fruit, marked by notes of white and
citrus fruit… peach, pear and lemon… They all show the same consistency and balance but
with varying weight, depending on the property. In terms of complexity, 2013 has enough to
make it a super vintage… a little more would have made it an extraordinary one.
Thanks to their beautiful acidity and elegant botrytis, the 2013s will certainly age well but in
the meantime it is hard to resist the charm of these wines with their fresh, spring-like aromas
and exuberance.
M I L L E S I M E
2013
25
GooD WEAThEr oVErALL
Back in spring, it would have been difficult to predict that 2013 would be such a good year. The rains during that period, for example, had affected flowering, but from the second
week of July right up to the middle of September the weather was much more clement. The downpour we had over the last weekend of September did complicate the harvest (40mm of rain fell in a matter of hours) but this was nothing in comparison to what our neighbours in the rest of Bordeaux had to contend with. In fact, Sauternes had been spared several hailstorms that had hit the region hard.
SPLENDID NoBLE roT
harvesting began at château Guiraud on September 19th with the grapes for our dry white ‘G’. Picking lasted a week and we then moved on to the Sauternes harvest, which ended almost a month later on october 24th.
The early phase of the harvest was especially promising and conditions were perfect for a great Sauternes vintage: ideal weather, good, rapid spread of Noble rot and intense concentration in the berries. All this meant mobilising between 130 and 150 experienced pickers, who went through the vineyard at regular intervals, covering almost 20 hectares a day until the showers that came at the beginning of october slowed things down. More than in any recent year, the key to 2013 lay in rigorous selection: we went through the vineyard no fewer than five times!
GrEAT VINTAGE - LoW VoLuME
For its third, certified, organic vintage, château Guiraud came very close to making an extraordinary wine, in many ways on a par with 2001. Apart from slightly less concentration, the 2013 wines have virtually the same structure and purity, with layer upon layer of complexity on the nose.
2013 is unquestionably a great vintage - in the words of olivier Bernard, President of the union des Grands crus de Bordeaux, “An exceptional year in Sauternes. I’d give it a 5-star rating.” In terms of quantity, however, 2013 is a small vintage, comparable to 2011. Guiraud will make some 50,000 bottles, a third of its normal production.
With the blending only days away, the wines are looking very fresh. The Sauvignon - Guiraud’s signature variety and the product of massal selection - is particularly delicious. February 2014
c h â T E A u G u I r A u DGrand cru classé en 1855, Sauternes
xavier Planty - Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
26
Another a-typical harvest because it was so late (we began picking our Sauvignon on September 23rd) and a very small year because of the spring weather that was such a
problem for good flowering.
however, if the quantity is low, the quality is very promising. The first wines to have finished vatting are intense and aromatic with notes of exotic fruit that are so characteristic of our white wines. The reds have excellent fruit and, for the moment, are marked notes of violet and spice from the Syrah.
For fans of our rosé the good news is that there will be a little more of it on sale this year, as the Syrah, on which it is based, was the only variety which gave good yields in 2013.
overall we were lucky. We managed to pick in good weather and miss the october rain.
Armagnac distillation began on october 26th and, once again, we were among the first to distill. The pear aromas, so typical of our terroir in haut Armagnac, are intense.
January 2014
D o M A I N E D ’ A r T o Ncôtes de Gascogne
Fabrice Saramon - cellar Master
M I L L E S I M E
2013
27
ThE 2013 VINTAGE IN ThE LANGuEDoc rouSSILLoN :
The weather in spring 2013 broke all records. The region saw twice to three times as much rain as in a normal year and we had the coldest month of May for 20 years. June
was just as cold and there were repeated bouts of heavier than normal rain in June and July. In cabardes, in the far west of the Languedoc, conditions were even worse.
The weather affected the vines in several ways, none of them good. Budding was regular but late and after that growth was very slow until mid-June. Some phases were much extended (pre-flowering, for example, was interminable) and the vines had difficulty assimilating minerals as the soils were wet and cold. A much more serious consequence was the exceptionally high amount of coulure. This affected the Grenache and Merlot in late-ripening areas of the western Languedoc such as the cabardes, but also in areas to the east such as the Minervois, Faugères, Saint-chinian and the côtes du roussillon. In places, coulure reduced the crop by as much as 10%.
Summer was glorious but nothing could make up for the late start to the year and the delay in ripening. harvesting dates had to be pushed back by an average of two weeks compared with 2012, in some cases more. It was the latest vintage in 20 years.
ThE AuDE: châTEAu DE PENNAuTIEr AND châTEAu LA BorIE BLANchE
Depending on the area, the situation varied greatly. In the eastern part of the Aude (Minervois, Minervois-La Lavinière, Narbonne) volumes were up on 2012, whereas the West (Audois, carcassonne…) saw an overall, average reduction of 10% to 12%, locally rising to 20% to 25%.
château de Pennautier, cabardès, Aude• Budding was two weeks later than normal and nowhere escaped the periods of cold, wet weather. Flowering took place 15 to 25 days later than in 2012, with marked differences between the east and west of the region. This meant that the vines had difficulty finding their ‘cruising speed’, although flowering was generous in some varieties.
Not surprisingly, the véraison began with the same delay and was very patchy, with different plots of the same variety changing colour at different times. The same phenomenon occurred within the same plot – and even within individual bunches. Millérandage, a partial form of coulure or shatter, was widespread in varieties such as the Merlot and carignan but coulure most affected the Grenache, which was reduced by up to 70% in some parts of the Aude. other varieties (notably the Syrah) were less badly hit, if at all.
V I G N o B L E S L o r G E r I LLanguedoc roussillonMiren de Lorgeril - owner
...
M I L L E S I M E
2013
28
The véraison began some two to three weeks late in the earliest varieties, a delay which remained right up to the harvest. In certain areas the white grapes such as chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were very fragile and had to be harvested before they had totally ripened and with yields close to or lower than last year. The same fragility could be seen in some of the cabernet Sauvignon, cabernet Franc and even Syrah and draconian selection was necessary to ensure that only the best grapes went into the winery. The Merlot, cabernet Franc and Sauvignon were all at similar levels of ripeness at the end of the harvest.
The total of required minimum temperatures in mid-August was down 23% compared with 2012, a decrease that meant delaying the harvest to get the right degree of ripeness.
Variety Days between flowering and maturity
2011 Flowering
2011 Maturity
2012Flowering
2012 Maturity
2013 Flowering
N° of days late.Difference 2013/2012
2013 Maturity
Chardonnay 96 23 May 27 Aug 2 June 6 Sept 25 June 23 27 Sept
merlot 104 25 May 6 Sept 5 June 17 Sept 24 June 19 10 oct
sauvignon Blanc
93 30 May 31 Aug 11 June 12 Sept 27 June 16 1 oct
Cabernet sauvignon
111 30 May 18 Sept 14 June 3 oct 27 June 13 17 oct
Caberne-Franc
110 25 May 12 Sept 7 June 25 Sept 24 June 17 15 oct
Pinot 96 23 May 27 Aug 4 June 8 Sept 22 June 18 12 Sept
We combatted this very uncommon situation on two fronts: in the vineyard and then in the cellar.
In the Vineyard
The situation was much the same throughout the region but towards the east of the Languedoc and towards the Pyrénées orientales, the effects were less severe. Given the unusually extended period of low temperatures this year, we worked more intensely and acted much earlier to a) ensure the grapes had as much air circulating around them as possible and b) provide maximum exposure to the sun. Whereas usually we de-leaf on the side of the vines that face the rising sun (this avoids the grapes burning in the midday Languedoc heat) and only on early ripening varieties such as chardonnay, Sauvignon and Syrah, in 2013 we de-leafed ‘cordon style’ i.e. we removed the leaves from both sides of the rows and across all varieties - a costly but necessary measure. ...
M I L L E S I M E
2013
29
More than ever, the harvesting date was determined by plot, with quality not variety being the main criterion.
In the cellarIn certain areas the fragility of the skins and the slow accumulation of polyphenols prevented us from working with the grapes as we normally do. our priority was to extract gently, so very early in the vinification (in the middle of the alcoholic fermentation) we worked with a submerged cap in full vats, almost infusing the fermenting must with the marc. This way we extracted the tannins slowly and gently and protected the skins for as long as possible during vinification.In fact, we managed to macerate for the same amount of time as we normally do and, here again, carefully tastings of the vats at very regular intervals was vital.
At our Borie Blanche property (Minervois and Minervois-La Lavinière) the situation was • almost identical, although not quite so critical.
ThE hErAuLT: MouLIN DE cIFFrE (FAuGèrES AND SAINT-chINIAN)
Moulin du ciffre enjoyed clement weather in September, with warm temperatures and little rain until the end of the month - our patience and hard work in keeping the vines in good condition (attentive canopy management and treating just enough at the right time) paid off. The grapes ripened beautifully and we picked in good conditions. Since the rains that came at the end of September had weakened the later varieties, especially the Mourvèdre, we speeded up a little towards the end of the harvest in the later ripening zones on the slopes.
ThE PYréNéES orIENTALES: MAS DES MoNTAGNES
As we said earlier, in this part of the region, too, the vine cycle was two weeks behind. The Grenache suffered some coulure but not excessively so, as it is a variety that is used to the vagaries of a climate ruled by the Tramontane wind.
In the vineyard and in the cellar we worked with the Syrah in the same way as we did at Pennautier. The goblet-trained Grenache ripened perfectly and vinification was entirely classic for this variety: we pumped-over more regularly at the beginning of fermentation than at the end, when, after tasting the wines in vat, we shortened pumping over time considerably.
February 2014
M I L L E S I M E
2013
30
2013: A MoST INSTrucTIVE VINTAGE
2013 was a little like going back in time, with exactly the same weather patterns last year
as at the beginning of the 80s. But, what will go down in the annals is how late this
vintage was due to the slow start in spring. We thought 2012 was a late year but in 2013
we were behind by 7 days, 10 days and finally, two weeks, compared with recent years. As
elsewhere, spring 2013 was cool and damp in the corbières and the vines never made up
for the slow start.
As flowering began with the arrival of summer (around June 20th) and the véraison occurred
two months later (around 20th August), we calculated that the harvest would be at the
beginning of october as opposed to the usual, mid-September. The problem, of course, is
that the later we pick in autumn, the more we risk picking in the rain.
The priority, then, was to get the harvesting date right: do we pick before or after the rain?
Do we pick the Syrah before or after the famous entrée maritime storms that are so violent?
It was certainly a more complicated task than in previous years and for the carignan and
Mourvèdre we had to wait until mid-october to get optimum ripeness.
We learnt a lot at caraguilhes in 2013 because we had to modify our approach so much.
For example, we de-leafed the Syrah and the Mourvèdre vines to make up for the delay
in ripening and get the maximum amount of air into the bunches because of the damp
conditions.
We also made the most of our wire-training system, which allowed us to trim the vines
better - again in an effort to aerate the bunches. In fact, where we usually seek to protect
the grapes with maximum shade, we were looking to get plenty of sun and air into the
bunches to limit the spread of disease and improve ripening. Even at harvest time, we had
to look at things differently since the aromatic profile of the grapes was very different to
usual because of the late cycle.
2013 was a testing year but ultimately a rewarding one. The final yield was an average
35 hl/ha (compared to 30 hl/ha normally) and the wines are fresh and tight, with lots of
elegance - they are, in fact, what we generally seek to achieve in our usually ‘Mediterranean’
climate!
January 2014
c h â T E A u D E c A r A G u I L h E Scorbières
Etienne Besancenot - Technical Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
31
NoThING chANGES!
Today as in the past, the challenge for any winegrower is still to have a crop of healthy, ripe
balanced grapes at harvest time. There isn’t very much we can do in the face of Nature and
we’d do well to remember this because unexpected, exceptional weather occurs year after
year and will continue to do so. Winter gets longer, meaning the vine cycle is put back two
weeks. Personally, I don’t think this is a bad thing - it means we begin the harvest later, at the
same time as we did 10 years ago. hail, too, is never far away. It came our way in May 2013,
causing damage mainly to the canopy.
Apart from the Grenache, flowering was good. We kept a close eye on the vines up to the
beginning of August to protect the canopy and avoid having to de-leaf early; there is life
after the harvest and it consists of preparing the plants’ reserves for the coming year - for
this we need leaves!
We began harvesting on September 15th and finished on october 15th. Thanks to the
clement weather, we were able to take our time.
2013 will be one of our best years, possibly the best ever in the last decade. The colour of
the rosé is a sparkling, vibrant pink and the wine has an excellent balance between acidity
and body. A real success.
The quality of the red wines is also excellent and for the first time in five years, we were able
to pick the red varieties after we had finished the white and rosé harvest. Needless to say
those grapes got a lot of care and attention.
Last year we said goodbye to our old carignan vines. To make up for their absence we had
selected a plot of old Grenache and this performed remarkably well, adding a very ‘Provence’
touch to the blend.
2013 was a very good year indeed for Lauzade - a benchmark year. The potential is
remarkable. our job, now, is to do it justice.
December 2013
c h â T E A u L A u Z A D Ecôtes de Provence
Nicolas Perolini - Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
32
Even in (normally) sunny, dry Provence, spring 2013 was cool and wet. The vine cycle
was disturbed and mild but showery weather in summer did nothing to help the vines
make up for lost time. harvesting began 10 days later than usual.
2013 is a vintage unlike any other in the way that the grapes ripened so slowly. But ripen
they did and the wines are surprisingly good: very elegant, very aromatic, with intensity,
complexity and good balance on the palate.
January 2014
D o M A I N E D E S A I N T - A N D r I E ucôtes de Provence
Grégory Guibergia - Technical Director
M I L L E S I M E
2013
33
After the challenges thrown at them in 2012, Bourgogne winemakers were hoping for a peaceful 2013. But capricious Mother Nature had other ideas. Defying all weather
forecasts, she never let up. After a long winter, a gloomy spring and a fine, providential summer, for the most part, the pickers had to wait until the start of october to take up their secateurs.
The consequences of the weather’s whims – such as shatter and millerandage, hail damage, concentration and disease – all had an impact on the quantities harvested. Across the region, no winegrowing area was spared. Some had very low yields with volumes equal to or even less than those recorded in 2012 (1.26 million hectoliters1).
Fortunately, the first tastings suggest that 2013 is a very successful vintage. once again, experience has made all the difference. It has been a challenging year but the winegrowers of Bourgogne have been rewarded for their pains.
WE FEArED ThE WorST, BuT WE WErE SPArED!
The winter lingered in Bourgogne. From January to July, the temperatures were cool. The sun was notably absent during the first half of the year, and the rain all too frequent. This gloomy weather affected the vines, setting back the growth cycle by around two weeks.
In early May, when the first buds had just appeared, torrential rainstorms hit the region. In some plots, the vines spent several days with their roots in water.
The weather during flowering and fruit set was no better and by now, the growth cycle was set back by three weeks.
A hot, dry and sunny summer provided a welcome change and helped the quality of the grapes, enabling them to mature correctly. July was marked by a violent hailstorm on the côte de Beaune with 1,350 hectares affected on 23 July.
September didn’t help the vines, with the ambient warmth and regular rain encouraging the development of the Botrytis fungus which rots the grapes. It was more limited on those bunches where the grapes were smaller and thus better aerated. The choice of harvest date was a tough one. Winegrowers had to be very reactive and work fast.
This demanding vintage required a lot of effort that, today, has been rewarded with success. The wines are revealing a real aromatic purity and unexpectedly color. The balance in the wines is particularly satisfactory.
7 November 2013 2013
i n B o u r g o g n e‘‘Prodigious Bourgogne wines’’
BIVB
M I L L E S I M E
2013
34
A particularly long winter meant that budding was two weeks later than in 2012.
In spring, the vines were roughly a week behind where they should have been due to
unusually low temperatures, record levels of rainfall (we had twice as much rain in May as in
a normal year), and a desperate lack of sunshine. As flowering approached, the threat from
cryptogrammic diseases, especially mildew, was high.
our white varieties, which are sensitive to the cold, suffered during this critical period and
the small inflorescences we saw were a clear sign that 2013 was going to be a small vintage
in terms of volume. The Mâcon and chablis were particularly affected.
Summer was a great improvement. But if the warm, dry, sunny days encouraged growth,
they were not enough for ripening - the véraison didn’t actually take place until the end of
August / beginning of September. Then, of course, there was the violent hail storm on the
evening of July 23rd, when twenty minutes of hail destroyed hopes of an abundant harvest
from north of Meursault to south of Aloxe-corton. Beaune, Pommard and Savigny were the
hardest hit.
The weather in September, usually the month in which we harvest, is always crucial in
reaching optimum ripeness. Last September, the end of the month was wet and we had to
contain the first outbreaks of grey rot. It was time to pick. We began in the first few days of
october with the white varieties. Selection was the priority.
once the grapes were macerating in vat, we were surprised to find that the musts had very
good colour and generous fruit. The acidity had mellowed and the finesse of the tannins
would certainly show through after the malolactic fermentation.
Some of the whites have now finished fermenting, others not quite. The wines are very
attractive, open and defined on the nose and quite tight on the palate. once the malolactic
fermentations are over we will have a clearer idea of what 2013 really produced.
November 2013
M A I S o N L o u I S J A D o TBourgogne
Frédéric Barnier - Technical Director
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hArVEST 2013: DISASTEr or MIrAcLE?
I have been a little surprised by some of the comments that I have read.Some say they were affected by the bad weather that troubled all French vineyards from June to october. And then there are others in champagne who say that our region was not only spared but blessed with conditions that have enabled a vintage on a par with the greatest.
In fact, at Philipponnat in Mareuil sur Ay, I saw two springs, two summers and two harvests.
TWo SPrINGS:
The early terroirs, which include the clos des Goisses and the best slopes in the «Grande Vallée» of the Marne and the «côte des Blancs», flowered in mid-June, in cold, rainy weather. Yields were low to moderate, flower abortion, uneven grape size and filage (when part of the cluster produces tendrils rather than fruit) having taken their toll.
The more classic terroirs, like those at Philipponnat in Avenay, or the later developing ones, flowered in late June or even early July, with warmer temperatures and more sunshine. They were unusually late compared to the earlier vines, and benefitted from higher potential yields, with more numerous and larger clusters.
During this critical flowering period, the earlier developing clusters sometimes suffered attacks of botrytis, which then proceeded to dry up, but sometimes became revitalized during the ripening stage.
TWo SuMMErS:
After a very wet June, July continued to be somewhat rainy, but with enough dry spells to control downy mildew, which did not present a significant threat this year. In contrast, there were some outbreaks of powdery mildew in June, which tended to affect chardonnay vines, in the absence of precautions or speedy remedies. Philipponnat of course grows mainly Pinot Noir, and so did not suffer from this problem. The only chardonnay in the clos des Goisses, where the grapes are very well ventilated and loose on the bunch, were not affected.
c h A M P A G N E P h I L I P P o N N A Tchampagne
charles Philipponnat - chief Executive officer
...
M I L L E S I M E
2013
36
The end of July, August and the beginning of September were exceptionally dry.This was the miracle that enabled disaster to be prevented, the risk of fungal attacks receded due to the lack of moisture, and a harvest in mid-october was avoided.
TWo hArVESTS:
The harvest period began with the ominous threat of several days of heavy rain around the 10 September. Very fortunately, the rain, of the order of 50 mm, suddenly stopped and we had a warm dry spell until the start of picking on 30 September in Mareuil. however, the rain in the southern regions was more abundant in the Sud de la Marne, and most of all in the Aube. In the really early terroirs some of the grapes burst, providing ideal conditions for the unwelcome return of botrytis and even some cases of acescence.
Where Botrytis was not prevalent, essentially in the premiers and grands crus, the start of the harvest was frequently excellent, with very well-ripened grapes, accompanied by a fine, fresh acidity, although (fortunately) not quite matching that of 1996. In the clos des Goisses and «Léon» in Ay, we found the degree of ripeness to be similar to that in 2000 and 2012, between 11.5% and 12%, with acidities close to those of the last vintage, or of 2008.
The latest terroirs were fairly uneven. This was due to two main factors: first, the rain, with its diluting effect, and at the end of harvest, a typical outbreak of grey and then dry botrytis; and second, the quantity of grapes, which has an impact on the achievement - or not - of real physiological ripeness, which is always problematic in october if yields are high. however, there were some wonderful harvests when these pitfalls had been avoided, especially in the Marne and Ardre valleys. It should also be noted that this period of the harvests generally produced wines with a more normal degree of potential alcohol than those from the earlier period, and often with a very firm acidity.
quI PoTuIT rEruM coGNoScErE cAuSAS ?
It is very difficult to make predictions about the wines at this stage. We will wait for the blending in April before making any pronouncements.
We already know that there is sufficient substance to create a grande cuvée, provided we are selective. In this sense 2013 is not universally a great vintage. But it is perhaps an exceptional vintage for certain exceptional plots and batches of grapes.
...
M I L L E S I M E
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The acidity of the medium ripe elements will be difficult to manage, as it will sometimes be very lively. At Philipponnat, we have decided to allow malolactic fermentation to take its full course in the vats this year. however, for the wines in barrels, we will as usual avoid it, these having been made from the riper «first harvest».
We will be able to tell you more in the spring, and will only know for sure in four, six or ten years when we taste the results in the royale réserve, the Vintage Blanc de Noirs, and the clos des Goisses 2013.
November 2013
