As September gives way to October, late summer has definitely turned into a windswept autumn, with much cooler weather, high winds and all the rainfall, which we missed through the summer. The turn in the weather may be a bit dreary on the human front, but replenishment of the water table is devoutly to be wished for.
Nobody was caught out by any worsening of the weather before they had completed their harvest. Indeed, those who were able to hold back and pick a little later – at the end of August, for example -benefitted from the light rains in the second half of the month.
Now attention turns back to the 2019 vintage. In the last part of September I completed the rounds of Mâconnais and Chablis producers and will be reporting on their wines very shortly. From 28th September I began the daunting two-month circuit of the 2019s in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, which will be reported on in full at the end of December.
Just to keep everybody salivating, I can now offer a brief report on a fascinating tasting of old bottles from the cellars of Bouchard Père & Fils. Have a dig around in the back of your cellars and see if you don’t just happen to have some off-vintage 60-year-old Montrachet to open – it may surprise you!
