Following the 2017 harvest, autumn remained dry and mild overall. Winter brought only a few snowflakes in December and a little more in February. The return of rain with the hope of raising the water table arrives at the end of December and continues into January. The end of February, often the coldest month, brings us 10 days of significant frost, up to -10°c on 2 days, thanks to the Moscow-Paris air current!

At the beginning of spring, rain becomes rarer and temperatures rise. Around 15 April, the buds start to open. Flowering starts around 25 May and ends around 5 June. Rain and heat then lead to a rapid growth and naturally the pressure of mildew starts to be felt. By 15 June some grapes were already hanging, they had not waited for Saint Jean! July was hot and heavy, and violent storms broke out, particularly on the evening of France’s victory in the football World Cup.

The south of Nuits Saint Georges was badly hit, while in Vosne the damage was minor. The ripening process was not very rapid. August started with a 10-day heat wave, with almost no water until the harvest. We started harvesting on September 2nd in good conditions with good ripeness. The degrees are reasonable, from 12.8 to 14, and the yields are under control: 38hl/ha on average on the estate. The climate chaos is once again a reality.

Vinification was a little more chaotic than usual with some sugars struggling to finish but overall it was a fine vintage with flesh, substance and energy. Wines are not heavy. The significant amount of whole grape harvests also contributed to the gain in complexity.

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