2018 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

Christophe Roumier asked me if I would not mind bringing my own stemware and spittoon. It might sound excessively prudent to some, though personally I expected more to do this. I was happy to oblige. You cannot be too safe. And throughout our tasting Roumier dutifully stood four or five metres away as I tasted his 2019s and a selection of 2018s.

“It was an early season like 2018 and 2020. We had some rain until the middle of March and then it became dry,” he told me. “Bud break was around the end of March, so we were afraid of frost, which fortunately did not show up. It was an easy season overall because it was dry. Flowering was around the beginning of June, the fruit set was consistent from vine to vine. Temperatures increased from the end of June and throughout July, becoming slightly lower in August. It was so dry that some of the vines halted the ripening process. We started picking on 16 September under good conditions and given the early bud break we should have picked earlier. So, in the end it was a long hang time. The growing season was a rare chance to have ripeness and acidity together, the fruit was so ripe and clean with good juice to skin ratio. The malos were between end of May and beginning of July. Before malos, the wines were very tight but afterwards I could really see their structure, without the heaviness that you occasionally get with the 2018s. The wines have not been racked and at the moment they don’t seem to need racking, so they may stay that way until bottling next spring, probably April. The good surprise is that we kept the acidity. Tartaric acid is at very good levels although pH could be a little lower. Alcohol is generally lower than 2018, the highest in Bonnes-Mares at 13.8° whereas the 2018 was over 14.0°.” Asking Roumier what appeals to him about the vintage he replied: “I like the density of the 2019s, their frame and transparency. The vintage can dominate the style of the wines but in 2019 I feel reassured that the terroir shows through. Initially I thought they could be compared to 2015, but bigger in terms of alcohol and dimension, in fact they are similar in balance. I love this vintage. I’ve liked it from the beginning, which is not always the case. It has been good from the start of the ageing and if you asked me to make 2019 again, I would.”

It might be playing the same old record, but Roumier’s wines excel in 2019 and I can easily understand why he waxed lyrical. They just have a sense of brightness and density combined with concentration. They defy the hypothetical style that a season like 2019 would produce. In particular, Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras stood out, whilst among the Les Amoureuses/Bonnes-Mares/Musigny triumvirate, it is the Bonnes-Mares that had its nose in front. Roumier, instead, is smitten by Les Amoureuses. The Musigny is reduced to one new barrel this year, even including all the stems, so good luck tracking down one of those 300-odd bottles. Roumier also opened his 2019 Corton-Charlemagne, a wine that since 2014 has been made with an early malo created by heating the cellar. Bottled prior to harvest, I prefer the 2019 over the 2018 tasted alongside, since it demonstrated a little more precision and charm.

Christophe Roumier, for sure the most affable winemaker in the Côte d'Or, guided me through his 2018s when I dropped into his domaine in the heart of Chambolle-Musigny. “The only difficulty was in spring to mid-June because of the rain, which fell every three days, so the mildew pressure was strong. But it went OK," Roumier told me. "Then the weather was dry and warm, which broke the mildew cycle. August saw high temperatures and for the young vines it was a little challenging. Some of the vines stopped their growth cycle. I started picking on 5 September and it took around six and a half days. It was difficult to choose the picking date as there were so many opportunities. Before, when I tasted the berries, we knew the sugars were fine. But I was convinced there was some progress to be made and the skins could be riper, so I accepted more alcohol in order to make sure that the tannins were ripe. Looking back, I might have employed a bigger team in order to pick more quickly, even so, I would have started the same date. The alcohol levels in the Musigny and Ruchottes-Chambertin are at 13.1/13.2% alcohol and the highest is Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras at 14.2%. Most are around 13.6-13.8%. The yields are just 3% less than in 2017, which was a normal crop. The vinification was fine but the higher alcohol levels meant that some sugar could be released after the pressing. Consequently, these could be slow in terms of finishing their alcoholic fermentation and so I kept these wines in tank for another couple of days. It meant that some malos started immediately, before the sugars were finished, and some of my malos didn’t finish until the beginning of July. I felt happier with these wines after the malolactic was over - they were a bit like "monsters" before. Now they feel fresher. I like the way they are, so I will keep them on the lees until we will prepare them for bottling. SO2 was added in July and they will be transferred in stainless steel in January for bottling in March." I asked Roumier for his overall impression of the 2018 growing season. "If you look back on the 1960s and 1970s when it was so wet, it was extremely difficult to achieve ripeness. That is no longer a problem. It’s a peculiar vintage. The fruit was just beautiful. I compare it with 2003 in terms of acidity and alcohol levels are a little higher, the tannins softer than in 2003. I feel better with these 2018s than 2003 as the tannins are softer and less astringent than in 2003. Tartaric levels are low. That is what it has in common with 2005. Or it could be 1990 as well." Roumier has overseen some wonderful 2018s crowned by a fantastic Bonnes-Mares and Les Amoureuses. I am more cautious towards his Les Cras that I felt was compromised by some warmth on the finish.