Spring went rather well, and though flowering took a bit longer than usual (from the 5th to the 25th of June), the fruit set looked good. Summer, however, was not in line with the beginning of the season: we had rainy days followed by rainy days that allowed plant diseases to develop insidiously, particularly botrytis, though in general these were kept under control.
Veraison struggled forward, taking longer than usual. In the beginning of the second week of September, the weather improved: the northern winds dried out the vines and swept away the clouds, leaving clear and bright skies, though the temperatures remained low. Ripening occurred in conditions that could be considered almost optimal. This was a fairly complicated year to manage in the vines, due mostly to the low temperatures and gloomy weather throughout the summer. The natural alcohol levels were not very high and the acidities rather sustained: the malic acid that usually deteriorates in hot weather was well present (though it would later, of course, be transformed during malolactic fermentation).
Harvest began on September 24th and finished on the 29th. The challenge of the vintage was eliminating grapes that were of insufficient phenolic maturity.
2008 is a vintage that particularly highlights, more than certain great vintages, each terroir’s personality and capacity to produce concentrated grapes even in a vintage where dilution was ubiquitous. This is a vintage without embellishment, often popular with Pinot Noir connoisseurs that seek out precision, tension, and structure. These are wines that have an aging potential of at least 15 years, especially for the 1er Crus.