2021 Le Corton Grand Cru

“It was a warm year, more than 2° Celsius above average, but mainly as February was warm. We were pruning in a t-shirt in February and March. Bud break was sooner than usual, mostly for Chardonnay. The beginning of April was cold with three nights of frost, the worst on 7 April. We tried to protect the vine with candles, but the humidity was 100%, and it was -6° Celsius plus snow at 2am. The buds were green with two leaves, and these were immediately burnt. We lost a huge volume, which had happened since 1910 or 1930. Our vineyards are all on the slope, and unfortunately here, bud break was more advanced, so we lost 80% of the estate, a majority of Chardonnay that was hit by oïdium. For the reds, Volnay was particularly damaged. The average yield is 10hL/ha for the Chardonnay and just under 20hL/ha for the Pinot Noir. May and June were overcast with regular showers – constant mildew and oïdium pressure. We did some effeuillage and manually used organic sprays. It was a vindication of organic. It was difficult using a tractor. August was better and the beginning of September nice, allowing us to reach maturity. Harvest began on 16 September, mainly with the Pinot Noir, as there were two types of grapes – those touched by the frost that had small, thick-skinned berries that needed longer to reach ripening and those untouched by the frost on a normal cycle with delicate skins and at risk from rot. It was important to select the grapes as there were many second-generation bunches that could be difficult to spot. The second-generation fruit is of a different colour and firmer [less squidgy]. Like in 2007, all the Chardonnays were picked after the Pinot Noirs, from 23 September, as they had thick skins and were not affected by rot. When we pressed the juice, there were some dusty notes that I systematically deselected, pressing a little harder at the end to extract aromas and potassium to decrease the acidity.”

“I increased the whole clusters because I wanted more matter to work with and potassium to decrease the sensation of acidity. For good extraction and volume, I wanted a good juice-to-pulp ratio to work and build the wines, striving for maturity. It was a shorter maceration, 12-15 days rather than 15-22 days, preferring an immediate alcoholic fermentation to protect the must in a reductive environment with only a softer pigeage after five or six days, no remontage to avoid any oxidation. For the whites, there was no racking, the malo finishing in June or July. More and more, I imagine the Village Crus will be bottled in February or March, the Premier and Grand Crus and the white later. The whites are fined this year with bentonite. It’s a very traditional, classic vintage with nice alcohol levels between 12.8% and 13.5%, the acidity more important than in the last few years, tartaric acid 7g/L and pH 3.2.”