The 2016 vintage at Domaine des Hospices de Beaune:
freshness and character

Review and analysis of the 2016 vintage by Ludivine Griveau

Whites: We have tasty wines with white fruit aromas. They are tonic and the acidity has remained natural. The terroirs are well respected.
The reds: The colors are rather deep, with beautiful purple nuances. The level of acidity is satisfactory, and the tannins very silky with a lot of roundness; thus, maceration was carried out in such a way as to gently extract the tannins while respecting the richness of the fruit. There are many intense aromas of fresh red fruit (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry) and present tannins that the barrel ageing will help to enhance.

The Climatology

The 2015-2016 winter in Burgundy was rather mild with temperatures mostly above seasonal averages. Temperatures are mild, so much so that here and there we have almond trees in bloom at the end of February.
Spring is slow to settle in, despite a fairly mild start to March. The lack of cold had nothing to do with the rains, which were often intense, frequent and short-lived. The rest of the spring will not bring up the average. April was colder and less sunny... until April 27, when an unprecedented episode of frost affected almost all of Burgundy. By then, the landscape was just beginning to change and some leaves were already well spread.
Finally, temperatures rose significantly in May, as did rainfall: between April and the end of June, rainfall surpluses approached 90%, while there was a lack of sunshine across the entire Burgundy landscape.
The Mâconnais region was hit by hail on two occasions. Chablis was not spared later in the season.

At this stage of the year, the level of progress in 2016 was in line with the rather "late" average of the last 10 years. Vegetation development was totally erratic during the first weeks of May and June: growth was highly variable from one vine to another, depending on the intensity with which frost had struck. Fruit quantities were uncertain, and the weather during flowering was decisive. We had to wait until July for summer to arrive and take hold, with glorious sunshine and summer temperatures above the seasonal average. And the vines are still showing incredible resilience...
As in 2015, during the summer months, rain fell very infrequently, and sometimes only a few millimeters. Burgundy is therefore looking forward to another warm, sunny summer, since it has to be admitted that the rather "chaotic" spring left its mark. August was average, with little precipitation, which came at just the right time for the vines' needs. September followed in the footsteps of the hot summer, with average temperatures 2°C above seasonal normals. With each vintage having its own story to tell, decisions about harvest dates are going to be difficult and decisive: there is heterogeneity from one vineyard to the next, habits are being shaken up with regard to the harvest orders known up to now, Pinot Noir is galloping while Chardonnay is gilding its lily slowly... More than ever, ripeness checks and berry tasting are essential. We chose to carry out these checks on the entire estate, 117 plots.
At the beginning of September, we began our ripeness checks, and the harvest was healthy, with the Chardonnay seeming to lag a little behind the Pinot Noir, which deserves to be emphasized. The health of the grapes is superb, and with the weather forecast to be more than clement, we have plenty of time to harvest perfectly ripe grapes.
We harvested our first Pinot Noir grapes on September 19th for Pouilly Fuissé and on September 20th for Côte de Beaune. At the same time, ripeness checks on the Chardonnay grapes continue. The very first grapes will arrive in the winery on September 26. All the grapes have, of course, been sorted. We were able to observe that the harvest was a little more abundant than expected (except in frost-stricken areas). Another highlight was the confirmation of what the tasting of Pinot Noir berries and skins had led us to expect: the grapes are extremely tasty, the tannins in the skins are supple and pleasant, and the color seems to be coming through nicely.

The vegetative cycle
The first green shoots appeared in the first dekad of April. The frost of April 27 slows or even stops growth for several weeks. The vines had to recover slowly. Mid-May, vegetation irregularly resumes its vegetative cycle. Around the 15th, beautiful spreading leaves appear.
The highly irregular temperatures of May and June mean that flowering will be irregular from one area to another, but the periods of good weather are just at the right time for flowering to take place in 8 to 10 days.
In frozen areas, we are cautious about disbudding/unbudding, as the fruiting itself already seems to be scarce. The unfrozen vines, on the other hand, are showing good fruit set, so they are being managed as usual: with prior splitting and disbudding.
It's not until mid-July that the bunches close. Like last year, the days were hot and dry, and windy, so leaf removal decisions were made sparingly. In fact, we're seeing some areas of toasting without even removing a single leaf. We did experience some, but far less than we might have feared. The vines are incredibly resilient.

As far as cryptogamic disease pressure is concerned, downy mildew has given us the most trouble this year, with a pressure that is said to be "historic". Weather and plot observations guide us in deciding on treatment rates. The heavy rains didn't make our task any easier, as it was sometimes difficult to get into the plots. The healthy foliage allowed intense and regular photosynthesis in both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, enabling the 2 grape varieties to gain in maturity and concentration significantly. The 100% veraison stage was reached in early September.
Foliage condition was excellent. None of the plots has "stalled", and the end of ripening can be envisaged with serenity.