“Extreme weather, lower production, but the grapes are promising”, the winegrowers told us in October 2019. Since then, tastings of Bordeaux and Burgundy primeurs have set the tone. The concentration and balance are there: maturity, generosity but also natural acidity and great sweetness. Aurélia Reis, sommelier and wine trainer, reviews the 2019 vintage.
Over the decades, the years with a 9 in them have seemed to bring good luck. However, 2019 was a year of extreme contrasts in the weather: Spring had difficult intervals of frost followed by a summer with scorching temperatures, and extreme drought in some regions which normally experience much cooler weather. Fortunately, at the beginning of September, a welcome return of cooler weather and humidity ensured a trouble-free harvest with very good maturity. Production levels, on the other hand, have been some of the lowest in the last five years.
When tasted, the 2019 nouveau wines reveal a “winemaker’s vintage”, requiring constant attention and tireless work in the vineyard to respond properly to the vagaries of the weather and the terroir. Regardless of the reason, the quality of the wines speaks for itself: the 2019 primeur wines will be very fine bottles that will take pride of place in the cellars of wine lovers who value great wines from Bordeaux but also from Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and other great French regions.
BURGUNDY WINES 2019 VINTAGE
2019 is a unique year of high contrast. It brought its share of stress, with moments of tension at many vineyards, but in the end the harvest went very smoothly. A less generous harvest in terms of volume but with very good quality grapes. As a result, the 2019 Burgundy wines have been inspiring the professionals more than expected. In Puligny-Montrachet, there is even talk of a “fabulous vintage”, with extraordinary proof and superb acidity despite the heat wave. This is thanks to the late cool mornings and the regular dews which preserved a very good acidity, and are promising for wines to lay down.
Burgundy whites 2019
The features of this strong vintage are a great aromatic purity and a remarkable balance: the liveliness is backed up by a solid richness on the palate. The Chardonnays which highlight citrus aromas and flavoursome juiciness still have a very nice balance thanks to their acidic structure.
Red Burgundies 2019
The wines are a quite soft ruby colour and have real elegance, with supple tannins and a pleasant freshness. The sweetness comes in from a fruit which is already well in evidence. The Pinot Noirs are refined, with a nose of sweet red fruits, like cherries, also lifted with a beautiful freshness. They leave a pleasant and intense impression on the palate.
Did you say vintage?
The word “vintage” is used to describe the wines harvested during a particular year. A 2019 Gevrey-Chambertin was therefore grown, harvested and vinified in 2019.
Grapes are a fruit. Like apples or apricots, they are sensitive to weather variations. So a wine grown on the same plots, with the benefits of the same terroir, will not taste the same from one year to the next. Rain, hail, wind, and also sun and heat have an impact on the vine, and consequently on the resulting wine.
To make a good wine, a number of conditions are required, including a slightly wet spring and autumn, so that the soil can build up water reserves. Then, a sunny summer, so that the vine leaves are exposed to photosynthesis and boost the sugar production of the grapes. Finally, a mild month in September, to avoid waterlogging the fruit before the harvest and to ensure perfect ripeness. This was the case for the magnificent 2010 vintage. The result is obvious: ripe tannins, controlled acidity… The vintage is perfectly balanced.
BORDEAUX WINES 2019 VINTAGE
Quantity, freshness, maturity, concentration, sugar and acidity: for Bordeaux, 2019 has all the qualities of a very good vintage. For the left bank as well as the right bank and for the sweet wines from Barsac or Sauternes, the 2019 Bordeaux primeur wines are remarkable. A real miracle!
Indeed, unlike other wine regions, the weather events for the 2019 vintage were far less extreme than for 2018 or 2017. Threatened by frost and heat waves, the majority of vineyards escaped disaster: “heat or rain always coming at the right moment”. Several owners are talking about a miraculous vintage, pointing out the high quality of the wines in 2019, especially their impressive balance.
The harvest was both beautiful and generous, offering small, very concentrated, sweet grapes with a good phenolic richness and high acidity, as well as high alcohol levels. The white grapes, in particular, showed an exceptional level of quality, both sweet and acidic, very aromatic. Finally, as far as sweet wines are concerned, the quantities were low due to the problematic development of botrytis, but here too, the grapes are very aromatic, fresh and sweet. In short, everything was in place to produce a fine red vintage and an exceptional white vintage!
In addition to quality, 2019 was also fortunate in terms of production volume. Thomas Soube, director of La Gaffelière says: “We are lucky to have both quality and quantity this year”. While in 2018 vineyards on both sides of the river were forced to make discards due to mildew, and their yields were lower due to heat, 2019 was able to escape both of these scourges. Another factor contributing to good production volumes in many vineyards is the particularly healthy condition of the grapes at harvest time. Jean-Michel Laporte, director of Talbot, explains: “Thanks to the impressive health of the bunches, all we had to do in 2019 was to sort out the very best ones”.
Left Bank, Médoc: whether in Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien or Margaux, the 2019 Bordeaux primeur wines are magnificent: the Merlot brings roundness and bright fruit while the Cabernet-Sauvignon displays superb complexity and freshness both in the aromatics and on the palate. The tannins are structured, but still very delicate, while the acidity will guarantee exceptional longevity in the cellar for the most patient collectors.
On the right bank, from Saint-Émilion to Pomerol, with more variety than in the Médoc, the most successful Bordeaux primeurs are very elegant: balance, charm and mellowness in the Merlot and Cabernet-Francs.
The 2019 Sauternes and Barsac sweet wines are remarkable for their freshness, fruit and acidity, with great balance.
Finally, the Bordeaux Blancs Secs 2019 primeurs are exceptional and some of them even surpass the great 2018s thanks to their aromatic freshness and high acidity on the palate.
VINS DU RHONE 2019 VINTAGE
On the whole less affected by the drop in production than many French vineyards, the yields this year provided the vineyards of the Rhone Valley with harvests fairly close to the ten-year average. Some exceptions, however: “In the northern part of the Rhône, the harvest was particularly good, especially in Condrieu and Côte Rôtie, which combine quantity and quality”, commented Inter-Rhône. “Saint Joseph, Cornas and Hermitage are counting on volumes close to those of 2018, as are the southern Côtes du Rhône Crus. On the other hand, quantities are lower in Crozes-Hermitage, which was most affected by a hail storm last June”. Other appellations in decline are Costières-de-Nîmes, which suffered from the heat wave, and Grignan-les-Adhémars.
As for the quality, the first tastings are incredibly promising.
“2019 has more acidity than 2018 with exceptional fruit and good acidity,” says Mickaël Gerin, Director of Côte Rôtie. “It will be a great vintage, for drinking and keeping, probably a mix of 2006 and 2017”.
CHAMPAGNE 2019 VINTAGE
If, like everywhere else, the beginning of the year was a bit complicated, the Champagne region had an ideal summer (warm and sunny days, cool nights before the harvest) which allowed good ripeness to develop. Champagne winemakers expect to produce 306 million bottles in 2019, which they rate as a good year in terms of quality and quantity. As for the tasting, patience will be required, but the clear wines tasted in vats or barrels were very promising from the big names.
BEAUJOLAIS WINES 2019 VINTAGE
The weather was particularly complicated in the Beaujolais region, with great disparity between the areas which were hit differently by frost, wind and hail. The vineyards experienced spring frost, drought and then hail. The weather reduced the quantity by half compared to the 2018 vintage and the yield was down 25% compared to the average of the last five years. But while the quantities harvested were modest, the quality is excellent: nicely rich in sugars and an acidity which ensures the typical Gamay freshness.
LOIRE VALLEY WINES 2019 VINTAGE
The Loire Valley was not spared weather hazards either. Severely affected by frost in the spring and by the heat wave in June, many of the region’s plots were affected by “grillure” – scorching. Finally, these climatic hazards had an impact on the yields, but less than expected, with huge disparity from one winegrower to another, even from one plot to another. The welcome September rains had a positive impact on the berries, leading to some nice surprises such as the Sauvignon, Chenin and Cabernet Franc.
The 2019 vintage heralds concentrated, structured wines with an acidity that gives very good balance. The wines are the purest expression of the “Loire” style in line with market expectations: fresh, sweet, aromatic.
A Great Vintage?
A great vintage is defined by its complexity, a great aromatic bouquet and, for some, by powerful, tannic, colourful wines. But there is an element of subjectivity. The reputation and price of a wine depends very much on what brokers, merchants and the specialist press, such as La Revue du Vin de France and Wine Spectator, say about it. In headline regions such as Bordeaux or Burgundy, they come to taste these young wines – in November for Burgundy and in March during the primeur season for Bordeaux – and assess the vintage. There is a speculative aspect to it, which can be generated by a rumour; the producer will not have the same vision as the buyer or the critic: for him, a great vintage is when quality and quantity combine.
