2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 1er Cru

Jean-Marie Fourrier, a flexible vigneron who adapts his vineyard work to the needs of each growing season, explained why 2006 could be so successful in the Cote de Nuits. "We had a very hot July, as in 1976," he began. "This stunted the size of the berries until the veraison. Luckily, heat at this stage of the season doesn't have an impact on acidity. And in fact the fruit kept all its acidity during the veraison. August was then cool and cloudy. Our fruit was not sensitive to rot due to the hard grape skins. There was more rain as you went south to the Maconnais." Fourrier, who does not believe in pulling leaves in mid-July, noted that this strategy would have been a disaster in 2006, as it would have exposed the fruit to the late July hailstorm. (He did his effeuillage in late August in 2007, 2006 and 2004.) There were actually three waves of storms, in mid-July, the beginning of August and mid-August, he went on. Vines planted along a north-south axis in Chambolle-Musigny were the least affected, while Griottes-Chambertin, Petite Chapelle and Clos de Beze were the worst hit by hail. Fourrier told me he did more pigeages than usual in 2006 to extract tannins, due to the tough skins and to the fact that he also has a high percentage of old vines. "A local lab said that in 2006, the grapes achieved 75% phenolic maturity but 50% extractability by what they call natural processes," he told me, "whereas in 2007 there was only 50% phenolic maturity but 90% extractability." Grape sugars in 2006 ranged from 12.8% to 13.4%, which Fourrier described as surprisingly high, and higher than those of 2005.

"The best thing you could have done in 2005 was to do nothing," said Jean-Marie Fourrier about this near-ideal growing season. "There was good rain in the winter and spring, which rebuilt the reserves in the ground. Then we had lots of millerandage and a very dry summer. There were two weeks in August when afternoon temperatures reached about 32oC (90oF); this reduced the levels of malic acidity but didn't burn off the tartaric. With high natural concentration of the grapes, I did less pigeage-normally twice daily, compared to four times in 2006 and 2004." Nothing had been racked yet in November, and the malos only finished in the month or two before my visit. Fourrier uses a wagon on a conveyor belt instead of a must pump, and vinifies with about 80% uncrushed berries. In the old days, Fourrier's must pump normally broke the tiny millerande berries and increased the alcohol level of the wines by 0.7% or 0.8%. "Now this fruit delivers its sugar later, and the fermentation is drawn out."