Burgundy 2015 Harvest: Spotlight on Puligny Montrachet
This is our 7th harvest here in Puligny Montrachet and though every growing season has its own individual characteristics, 2015 has been, to say the least, atypical. Starting in the winter 2014/15 the weather pattern was relatively mild with temperatures rarely dipping below freezing. The spring brought along fair weather, mild and in general a touch warmer than average and the downpour in the beginning of May was opportune for the vines.
Flowering passed without any problems under blue skies and warm weather in June and with a few days of rain, the vines flourished and grew rapidly. July was incredibly hot (one of the warmest on records) with a heat-wave lasting almost 4 weeks where day-time temperatures were often between 34° to 39°C and the grapes matured quickly.
August remained hot but in most cases the temperatures were mainly in the early 30°s and with a little rainfall and at times some useful winds, many of the vignerons felt optimistic about the potential for 2015. One thing that has been avoided in the Cote de Beaune this year is the damaging hail we have seen over the past 5 harvests which caused such problems in Beaune, Pommard, Volnay and the northern flank of Meursault. Notably, due to a lack of water the berries in the main are small and skins are thick.
2015 is one of only 3 occasions on record where the harvest in Puligny has started in August (2011 & 2003 being
the other two). I bumped into Benoit Ente on Tuesday 26th who was just bringing in his first grapes from some of his Village holdings who sounded very confident in terms of quality. Naturally, ripeness is good, natural sugars high but the team also seemed to be happy with PH levels and acidity. By Friday the 28th many of the great and good in Puligny started picking in earnest and on Saturday morning at just after 07:30 we followed Alain Chavy’s team picking their top Premier Cru parcels of 
Clavoillon and Les Pucelles (as shown in the photos) which was a little surprising. Though, I don’t have the specific data I would venture to say that it must be the earliest harvest in Les Pucelles.
I am always loathe to make general pronouncements about Burgundy vintages (but somehow I always seem to be doing it) and though many of the Vignerons I have spoken with seem to be brimming with confidence, I am a little more sceptical especially, in the case of the whites. Hot vintages in Burgundy are complex for Chardonnay and often it is the acidity that is lacking and therefore the balance. As ever, the most diligent of Domaine’s will produce excellent wines and time will tell how the wines turn out.
We will keep you posted on progress of the 2015 harvest.
