WHAT´S NEW ?


PFV Members 2000 VINTAGE REPORT - Part 2,

    A first report on the Vintage 2000 from PFV members :
  • Paul Jaboulet Aîné - Rhône: The first quarter of 2000 was abnormally dry with above-average temperatures, except for some rare moments in January (the 27th: 8°c) and in February (the 5th: -2°c) and a few snowflakes.
    From April to June, the period was wetter with three notable storms which might have threatened the flowering had not the Mistral (northerly wind) immediately dried the flowers and prevented all risk of basal rot.
    The third quarter was in great contrast, with exceptionally low temperatures for the month of July and three heavy showers, notably those of the 23rd and the 27th July.
    August was quite the contrary, and brought us very high temperatures, with more than 35°c on the 19th, along with a dry spell. These weather conditions completely upset the ripening of the grapes. Certain winemakers even envisaged harvesting at the end of August ... but Mother Nature came back to her senses and the month of September - despite two showers, at the beginning and at the end of the harvest - will be remembered for its fine warm days.
    The grape harvest began on the 14th September in fine summer sunshine, and the first picking - for the Crozes Hermitage - filled the presses with bronzed bunches of sweet white grapes.
    The harvest furnished an exceptional quality in both white and red and continued until the 11th October, when the skies opened and were less clement, with abundant rain.
    But this was of no great importance, for the crop was, for the most part, already in the vats and barrels: the fruit of a year's work ... and the 2000 vintage, the last of this century.
    At the dawning of the new millenium, the winemakers of the northern Rhône Valley can only hope to see another decade as great as the one we have just lived.
  • Robert Mondavi – Napa Valley: At Robert Mondavi Winery; the last vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on October 31st. Overall, it has been an outstanding 2000 growing season to celebrate the "first vintage" of the new millennium. This vintage also represents a milestone in the history of Robert Mondavi Winery, as the first crush after the completion of the To Kalon Project, a $27 million renovation that includes 56 upright French oak fermentation tanks in a new 20,000 square foot red wine fermentation room. "It has been a much more evenly paced harvest than last year, allowing us time to focus on each variety, each vineyard. The early indications are that the wines are going to be terrific, with intense fruit character and good acidity."
    The sunny days and cool nights, which prevailed through most of the season, provided optimal ripening conditions. We had excellent hang-times because of earlier than average budbreak, bloom and veraison dates, followed by a prolonged harvest. It was an average year for rainfall, 38"fell in Oakville during the winter and early spring. The abundant crop, following the sparse yields of the 1998 El Niño and 1999 La Niña vintages, required thinning to achieve highest quality, overall we thinned about 35% of the crop.
    Said Genevieve Janssens, RMW Director of Winemaking. "Our highest quality vineyards --including fruit for our District and Reserve wines -- were harvested under ideal conditions. "Similar to Merlot this year, the Cabernet harvest season was bi-phasic, with the majority of our Reserve and District fruit (Oakville Bench, including To-Kalon Vineyard, and Stags Leap District, including Wappo Hill Vineyard) picked during the warmer, earlier part of the season. The last two weeks were interesting because we had cold nights, dipping to 44ºF., followed by sunny days. The Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards close to the hills, including our To Kalon Vineyard, moved along very nicely to completed maturation. The ripening conditions gave very elegant tannins to our wines."
  • Weingut Egon Müller-Scharzhof – Saar: The season started well enough. Bud break was fairly early, we were spared by the spring frosts and May and June were hot and dry. The wines flowered 2 to 3 weeks earlier than normal and everything seemed set for another great vintage.
    July however was the coldest on record and the wettest for the last 20 years or vice versa. The growth of the wines and the development of the grapes all but stopped and only the diseases thrived. August was fine but not hot enough to stop the development of the infections and we had to continue spraying our vineyards until August 20th. September also was warm and wet and when the grapes started to ripen Botrytis appeared almost immediately.
    In October the predictions were for a copious harvest of average quality. We started harvesting on October 16 and rapidly picked our lesser vineyards that are destined for our „Scharzhof“ Qualitätswein. Here the yields were still quite good, averaging 55 hl/ha. The weather was fine and the grapes started to dry up and when we started picking in Wiltinger braune Kupp and Scharzhofberg on the 23rd the ripeness levels had gone up but the quantity was down dramatically. About half was Kabinett, one third Spätlese and the rest Auslese but we only harvested 29 hl/ha in the braune Kupp and 22 hl/ha in the Scharzhofberg.
    Until November 1st, selective picking was rewarded and we were able to make a Trockenbeerenauslese from Scharzhofberg that might rival its counterpart from 1999.
    While 2000 is certainly not going to be another 1999, first tastings of the unfinished wines show good concentration of fruit and a fine acidity balance.
  • Pol Roger – Champagne:
    2000 VINTAGE / All’s well that ends well.
    Natural conditions were particularly harsh and changeable all through year 2000. Wet weather unseasonable storms upset the natural growth cycle of the vine. In the end the weather turned fine in August, just at the right time.
    By a stroke of luck, Indian summer gave Champagne a harvest that exceeded the hopes of even the most optimistic.
    Picking started on September 11th, being staggered in accordance with the state of the grape varieties and the varieties and the various crus. The grapes achieved full ripeness, with a potential alcohol level over 10° and sound acidity levels.
    All the indications are that this, the last harvest of the century and the millennium should permit the production of generous, attractive cuvees of excellent quality.
  • Vega Sicilia – Ribera del Duero:
    Despite of being a difficult climatical year we have achieved one of the best vintages. Wines surprisingly fruity with an intense colour, full-bodied structure and great concentration. This is the result of the works and efforts which have been developing in the vineyards for year.
    During the summer we removed about a 35% of the grapes from the bunches, in order to ensure a great quality of the final product. The harvest has been slowly carried out from 10th of October to 12th of November selecting very carefully every plot where to pick the grapes according to their full maturity.


Back