Returning from two weeks’ tasting of the delightful 2014s, there are some beautifully expressive wines representing the stunning terroir of the Côte d’Or. These are gorgeous examples of the very best that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay can offer in this, France’s most classical of wine regions.
As a vintage, 2014 was a nerve-racking year. A hotter than normal period at the beginning of June during flowering already indicated yet another small crop, something nobody wanted following the shortage of fruit in 2012 and 2013. July and August were not the sunshine-filled months the vignerons were hoping for, but the true influence of the vintage came in the last week of August and the first three weeks of September. It was these 4 glorious weeks which made the vintage.
Warm days full of sunshine and cool night time temperatures had an enormous impact on the quality of the vintage. The health of the fruit picked was outstanding; all the growers commented that they barely needed to sort the fruit, it was in such good condition.
The wines, both red and white, have a brightness of fruit and purity that is the absolute characteristic of the vintage. As one grower said in the Côte de Nuits, the reds have a “Pinosité” to them in that they are full of Pinot Noir red fruit flavours and totally representative of their vineyard origins. The best red vineyard locations have made classy, true and archetypal wines.
The white wines are outstanding in their own right; this is a year which is rightly being hailed by all in the Côte de Beaune as a top class white vintage with great levels of drive and freshness.
In terms of ageing, whilst not for the absolute long term, they are wines which will develop beautifully in bottle.
We will be launching our 2014 En Primeur campaign this week with a selection of wines from Maison Louis Jadot followed by the much acclaimed 2014 Chablis from our four favourite producers: Pommier, Pinson, Droin and Billaud-Simon.