The Wines

1 – Meteorological data and progress of the vegetative cycle

At the end of a water-deficient winter from October to March, there were no signs of earliness. Winter temperatures were in line with the season, and even though they remained between -2°C and 0°C, it still froze for 58 days from November to March.

While we were expecting budburst in mid-April, the last week of March turned out to be summery, with temperatures close to 25°C, which will bring more precocity to the 2022 vintage. In Chardonnay, the first green tips are coming out of their cotton and susceptibility to spring frost is increasing. The later Pinot Noir still had its buds in the cotton at the end of March.

On the nights of April 3rd and 4th, then April 9th and 10th, temperatures ranged from -1.5°C to -3°C. The vines withstood the more or less wet weather, and the winegrowers were relieved: there was virtually no damage.

Until April 12th, vegetation grows more slowly. Temperatures then rise again. Twig growth is rapid, with vines gaining 3 spreading leaves per week on both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vines are a beautiful dark green, and the rows are getting thicker: we need to disbud quickly to avoid being overtaken.

On the estate, our winegrowers have to do a precise job of disbudding in order to balance the harvest on each vine according to its vigor. No sooner has debudding been completed than we have to start lifting our Meursault Charmes and Volnay Clos des Chênes.

We are in our 3rd year of organic conversion. 2022 will be our first certified organic vintage. Diseases (powdery mildew and downy mildew) remain present throughout the season, and we need to remain very vigilant and monitor our plots closely, as the contact products we use are quickly washed away by the stormy rains.

Despite a few storms on May 5th and 15th, the month of May was warm and the 2022 vintage went from average to very early. On the Côte de Beaune, the first flowers were visible from the week of May 24th. Despite cool temperatures and thunderstorms from June 2nd to 6th, berries grew rapidly and cluster closure was visible by June 17th.

The heat spell from June 15th to 20th was the earliest ever recorded, with 38°C on June 18th, and the Chambre d’Agriculture recorded temperatures of up to 50°C on bunches exposed to the setting sun. Apart from a few scalds, the vines’ resistance was incredible. Thunderstorms on June 22nd brought an average of 120 mm of water to the coast. Thanks to this rainfall, the vines built up their water reserves, enabling them to resist until the harvest.

In July, hot and windy conditions created stable anticyclonic conditions, with frequent heat peaks and only 4 to 13 mm of rain, depending on the area. By July 12th, the first Pinot Noir logs were turning red. By July 25th, soil work and treatments had been completed, and we were actively preparing the winery for the approaching harvest…

Overall, August was very hot (28°C on average) and dry. The vines held up well, and the first signs of water stress appeared on August 10th.

2- Harvest, Vinification and Maturation

To get the best possible idea of the 2022 vintage, we began taking maturity samples from our 80 plots on August 16th, with 2 analyses per week per plot, in order to determine the optimum harvest date for each plot. 2022 will be early, and each sector will require a detailed maturity analysis. The state of health is superb, and everything is in place to achieve perfect phenolic ripeness.

Harvesting of the estate’s 67 hectares began on August 26th for our Beaune Toussaints and Volnay Clos des Chênes parcels, and ended on September 06th for our Savigny reds.

For our reds, the harvest is healthy, and optical sorting of the grapes has enabled us to remove the wilted grapes and put only the healthiest, ripest grapes into vats.

After 5 days’ cold prefermentation maceration, alcoholic fermentation was gentle and regular, without too much punching of the cap, essentially pumping over to gently extract the highest-quality tannins. After vatting for almost 20 days, the wines were then transferred to oak barrels for ageing on lees.

For the Chardonnays, after manual sorting, pressing and settling, alcoholic fermentation took place in barrel for 10 to 15 days, depending on the terroir. Lees stirring is considered on a case-by-case basis, as each cuvée is unique.

3- Tasting

On tasting, we have good balance with volume and quality in both colors. The whites are expressive, fresh and aromatic. The tannins in the reds are silky and sunny, with a good concentration of fruit.

This 2022 vintage will delight the palate in its youth and reach its peak in 4 to 5 years.