2016 Pommard 1er Cru

Winemaker Frédéric Weber provided a detailed overview of the challenges of the 2016 growing season, during which Bouchard Pere & Fils lost 50% of their estate fruit (there’s no Echézeaux in ’16). In addition to the damaging frost, there was strong mildew pressure during springtime. “The climate changed totally after the summer solstice,” he told me, “but some vineyards eventually suffered from drought and the fruit stopped maturing. So at harvest time [Bouchard began harvesting Pinot Noir in his frosted Beaune vineyards on September 21], we generally had to wait for real ripeness but we had to rush to pick some of our sites.” Significant rainfall on September 16 and 17 restarted the maturity process, especially in the plots that were carrying near-normal crop loads. Weber told me that there was no rot but that he had to eliminate the contra-bourgeons, as these grapes were not ripe and had too much acidity. “The berries looked okay but they tasted green,” he explained.

Weber did what he described as a “quiet” maceration for the ‘16s but reduced his use of whole clusters [to about 15% for his Côte de Beaune wines and 25% to 50% for the Côte de Nuits] “due to the stress in the vineyards and the lack of juice.” Happily, color and structure came quickly so he could carry out a relatively cool maceration, with the temperature of the fermentations finishing no higher than 32 or 33 degrees C., which is lower than usual in this cellar. The malos generally finished in March but the wines were still in barrel on their lees when I tasted them in November. Weber noted that the wines were still changing every day, and that some were reduced, which he took as a sign that the élevage was not yet finished.

The balance of the ‘16s is like that of the ‘15s, he told me, but with a bit more acidity; the pHs in ’16 are 3.5 to 3.7, compared to 3.6 to 3.8 for the ‘15s, with some wines from the earlier vintage as high as 3.9. Weber believes that the 2016s will age longer than the ‘15s but also feels that the '16s will give early pleasure at the dinner table. Two thousand fifteen stands out for the great quality for Pinot Noir "from village wines on up," Weber added, noting that the village bottlings are what he would buy because "they're too good." Despite the atypical sucrosité and lowish acidity of the '15s, said Weber, Bouchard has held back a sizable number of bottles "because we think the vintage is great. But the summer was too sunny for it to be a classical vintage, and certain premier and grand crus in 2016 could be better for aging."