The 2015 Vintage
The climatic conditions
Winter 2015 was particularly mild yet the month of February was colder than normal. A rather dry period began in March and lasted until July.
The rainfall was quite variable from one village to another as a result of heavier rainstorms in Vosne Romanée and Nuits St Georges than in Savigny, Beaune, Pernand and Gevrey.
The return of the swallows after 10th April in Vosne announced the awakening of the plants. The first green tips (Stage C) were observed in Vosne as of 15th April. The summer-like temperatures encouraged the vines to quickly sprout up with leaves appearing (Stage D) on 17th, the leaves unfolding (Stage E) on 21st and visible bunches (Stage F) as of 25th April. The 2015 plant cycle, therefore, was similar to the one observed in 2009.
May was hot and the first flowers were observed in Vosne as of 25th. Flowering would continue for just a few days with mature flowers as of 1st June.
The extremely high temperatures from 3rd to 7th June (33.5º C in the shade on 6th in Vosne) led to a “coulure” phenomenon which reduced a small part of the future harvest.
The bunch closure stage (Stage L) was observed at the beginning of July in Côte de Nuits. The lack of water was felt and the immense heat all month long led to scalding and hindered veraison which began in mid-July.
For example, recorded in Vosne throughout the month of July were: 26 days with highs of more than 30ºC including 9 days of 40ºC and more! The high risk of Powdery Mildew and even very high as of the beginning of the season was forgotten as the large majority of the vines were in good conditions.
Mother Nature really played on vine growers’ nerves in 2015. Fortunately, a little rain on 4 August and then the 9th provoked veraison; the bunches had reached 90% in Côte by the 10th.
This healthy precipitation led to a quick evolution in maturity under very good conditions.
By the end of the month, the grapes had thick skins with memorable matte blue reflections, the stalks and seeds were perfectly ripe and the sanitary conditions were absolutely remarkable.
All in all, a Burgundy miracle!
The harvests
We cut the first bunches on Friday 4th of September in Savigny Les Beaune and 1er Cru, then in Beaune 1er Cru « Les Avaux » and finally in Pernand Vergelesses.
On Saturday 5th, we harvested Bourgogne Pinot Noir and « Sapidus », then the plots of Bourgogne Chardonnay and Aligoté. The next day, we picked the Vosne Romanée village, « Les Violettes », « Les Maizières Hautes » and in the late afternoon the Bourgogne Passetoutgrain « Aux Rouges Champs ».
On Monday 7th of September, we continued in Fixin and Fixin « Vieille Vigne » and then Gevrey Chambertin. On 8th, a small team reached Chambolle Musigny and the rest of the harvesting team had cut the Nuits St Georges « Les Plateaux ».
On the 9th, time has come to harvest Marsannay « Clos du Roy » to preserve the freshness of the Chardonnay.
The malic acid concentration was perfect and we wanted to avoid any risk of acidity deficit. Meanwhile, the large team joined Vougeot 1er Cru « Les Cras » and « Petits Vougeots », Vosne Romanée 1er Cru « En Orveaux », Echezeaux and Echezeaux « La Grande Complication ». On Thursday 10th, great care has been taken in Richebourg, Grands-Echezeaux, Nuits St Georges 1er Cru « Aux Boudots », Vosne Romanée 1er Cru « Les Petits Monts » and « Les Suchots ».
At least, the day of September 11 and the morning of 12th were dedicated to Coteaux Bourguignons and Bourgogne Passetoutgrain.
Harvested on 15th and 16th, just after 2 ½ days off work, the grapes from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits white and red in the plots « Le Prieuré », « La Croix » and « Les Dames Huguettes » have taken maximum advantage of these beautiful days.
The wines
Remarkable, legendary in fact! The 2015 vintage benefited from exceptional conditions of ripeness to produce deep, structured wines along the lines of some of the greatest years.
The red cuvées show deep, shiny colours and wonderful ripe red berry aromatic complexity mixed with sweet spicy notes.
The full body of the wines is emphasized by the roundness and silkiness of the tannins. In the mouth, they are pure, harmonious, rich, dynamic and velvety with an elegant concentration.
The white wines are harmonious, structured and warm with magnificent aromatic textures.
White fruit aromas ranging from pear to ripe oranges delicately combine with a few Oriental spice and salty notes.
Just the right acidity underlines the lovely freshness and a charming aromatic persistence.