Bordeaux Harvest 2009: a vintage of ‘four little miracles’

February 17, 2010

Bordeaux 2009: a vintage of ‘four little miracles’

By Panos Kakaviatos

Not since 2005 has Bordeaux enjoyed such a fine harvest – but 2009 is likely to have a slightly warmer profile, less classical than the 2005. For Bordeaux oenologist Nicolas Vivas, 2009 will be remembered for ‘four little miracles’:

1. Just enough rain in mid-September to relieve water stress
2. Not enough rain to burst the grapes
3. No rain afterwards for a sunny harvest
4. Fresh – even cold – nights to maintain acidity and freshness

It was hard not to miss the smiles on vintners faces in late September and early October 2009 throughout Bordeaux: from Sauternes to Pauillac, from St. Emilion to Graves. Time was a luxury for the 2009 harvest. At Chateau Belair-Monange in St Emilion, Christian and Edouard Moueix joined harvesters on 30 September: ‘We are just lucky to have the time to wait for ideal ripeness,’ said Edouard Moueix. On the Left Bank, Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste owner François Xavier Borie echoed: ‘The key was the great weather leading to and lasting throughout the harvest,’ he said. ‘Absolutely no stress for the harvesters, no need to rush, and people had a feeling of serenity about them, and pride in their work.’  When I asked how things were going to a random harvester for Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac, he smiled and said in Spanish: muy bien.

Commenting on just-fermented wine in the vat room at Chateau Brane Cantenac in Margaux, owner Henri Lurton remarked: ‘The colors here are really vivid, with a very fast extraction unlike anything I have seen before. When you see this vivid color and aroma, you have to think it will be a great vintage.’ In St Julien at Chateau Branaire Ducru, owner Patrick Maroteaux sampled vats of partially fermented Merlot. Each showed off intense and focused fruit flavor; the most impressive coming from an old-vine Merlot.

Stylistic differences due to varying harvesting times

With near perfect weather evident, varying picking times will highlight different wine styles.  ‘It will be a vintage known for its diversity,’ commented celebrated oenologist Jean-Claude Berrouet of Petrus in Pomerol. ‘Some will make wines of freshness; some will make sun wines,’ he predicted. ‘It depends on the timing of the harvest.’

In St Emilion, Jean-Pierre Taleyson, cellar master at Chateau Troplong Mondot, said Merlot was picked between 2 and 10 October, with alcohol levels reaching 15.5 degrees.  ‘We have a late-ripening terroir, so we always harvest late, along with Pavie, Pavie Macquin and Tertre Roteboeuf,’ he explained.  Two parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon were picked on 20 October.

By contrast, cellar master Stéfan Bonnasse at nearby Chateau Canon remarked: ‘With such great weather over the summer and early autumn, I cannot understand why some were picking as late as yesterday [20 October],’ he said.

At Chateau Canon, young vine Merlot was picked between 23-25 September, followed by old Merlot between 28 September and 1 October, before ending with the Cabernet Franc between 2-6 October, almost two weeks before the end of the harvest at Troplong Mondot.

Lunching with Spanish harvesters on 5 October at Chateau Pichon Comtesse in Pauillac, general director Gildas d’Ollone said he could not recall ‘so many varied picking times in a harvest.’ Wine consultant Denis Dubourdieu said that Cabernet could be picked later this year and fine wine still would be made, but for Pichon Comtesse ‘the film is coming to an end’…  He would not allow too much concentration to set in, risking perhaps a loss of freshness. ‘Especially because the style of Pichon is more delicate,’ d’Ollone added.

At Chateau Léoville Barton in St Julien, Merlot was picked until 27 September and the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest ended on 3 October. Neighbor Léoville Poyferré started picking Merlot on 29 September and only began picking its Cabernet after 3 October.

‘We see no reason to rush; we think we will get more from the grapes,’ said Michel Rolland, the famous oenologist who consults Léoville Poyferré. ‘It is an intuitive decision based on tasting the grapes,’ he explained.

‘I cannot say who is right, but I could see no reason for waiting any longer, ‘remarked Léoville Barton owner Anthony Barton, enjoying a glass of Champagne with his wife Eva to celebrate the end of his harvest.  ‘There is a risk of losing freshness,’ he added. ‘We want to make wines with vivacity.’

Saved by the rain?

Like Vivas, many stressed the importance of mid-September rain to relieve vines suffering from mild water stress. Rainfall varied – up to 100mm in Pomerol, 27 mm in Pauillac – but most said that it helped to soften hard, thick grape skins. Even after the rains, shriveled grapes could be seen on almost every vine, said Marc Duvocelle, viticulture director at Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste in Pauillac. ‘This vintage could have been like 2003, but the rains helped to soften the skins,’ he said.

D’Ollone at Pichon Comtesse went so far as to say that ‘yes, we were saved by the rain. Together with the fresh nights, particularly in later September, it helped maintain good acidity and mitigated alcohol levels’. Cellar master Xavier Pallu added, ‘The rain helped Cabernet Sauvignon more than Merlot because the grapes had more time to concentrate after the rain.’

Thick skins + high alcohol levels = careful extraction

Some winemakers expressed concern about potential over-extraction in 2009 Bordeaux. ‘The problem in great vintages like 2009 is the false assurance that every bit of tannin will be ripe, so you might see over extraction of wines,’ said Pierre Olivier Clouet, oenologist at Chateau Cheval Blanc in St. Emilion. ‘With weather so good and grapes so ripe, people think they can pigeage and pump-over to their heart’s content, but I never saw as many over-extracted wines as I did in the 2005 vintage,’ he said, comparing 2009 to 2005.

‘The skins are like leather,’ commented Rémi Edange, assistant manager at Domaine de Chevalier while tasting Cabernet Sauvignon grapes on 1 October. ‘They are not green but hard, and the juice inside is terrific. But when you have thick, hard skins like this, you do not want to pump over or pigeage too much because you could force out hard tannins,’ he explained. ‘In 2005 we would not be having this conversation [about hard skins]; they were thick, but more supple,’ he said.

Berrouet also cautioned against ‘human nature always wanting more.’  He said that high natural alcohol potential in Merlot will accentuate extractability and urged gentle extraction during fermentation.

Spread of new technologies and methods

The 2009 harvest also saw the spread of new technology and methods, such as expensive optical sorting machines – fetching at least €120,000. Used last year by one or two properties, some 20 estates were experimenting in 2009 with the sophisticated calculator to analyze grapes based on user input – size, color, shape of grapes – as they passed on a conveyer belt.  A video camera captured on screen the grapes passing on the belt and a burst of air ejected all undesirable elements, from remaining bits of stalk to shriveled grapes.  ‘We did not need to enter color data because everything was ripe this harvest,’ explained Bruno Eynard, director at Chateau Lagrange in St Julien.

At Chateau Angélus in St Emilion, 50 gloved workers hand de-stemmed grapes because ‘that is better than using the best machine,’ owner Hubert de Bouard de Laforest said. Hardly any juice poured into a bucket under a single sorting table – just one as opposed to five last year, de Bouard said – because the almost entirely unscathed grapes made other sorting tables redundant. The grapes are crushed just before they enter the fermentation vats. The method had been introduced to Bordeaux by Bernard Magrez of Chateau Pape Clement.

Fine for whites, dry and sweet

As in 2005, 2009 also looks to be a fine vintage for both dry and late-harvest whites. Vintners also praised mid-September rain for the onset of botrytis, followed by ‘ideal fog in the morning and sun in the afternoon, which makes 2009 an exceptional vintage,’ said Jean-Pierre Meslier, of Chateau Raymond-Lafon. ‘We will have both quantity and quality, like 2005.’

Barrel Samples coming soon!