Northampton Wines

Wine is evocative of place and time. In spite of trends towards industrialization and consolidation of the wine industry, the most intriguing wines speak for themselves, their vintages, and their vineyards. The 2003 wine harvest in Europe was big news, and like most big news, was sensationalized. Throughout the growing season unusually dry, hot summer weather affected every part of Northern Europe. Some writers proclaimed widespread disaster, others wrote of the vintage of 100 years. Now that significant samples of the wines of 2003 are reaching us, cooler heads should prevail. The story is, as always, mixed.

Throughout Europe, producers were challenged to make decisions about how to handle unusual circumstances. The quantities produced in many traditional quality-wine regions were very small. In Burgundy the average seems to have hovered around half of a “normal” crop (farmers may well challenge the idea that there is such a thing as a normal crop). In light of the abundance of recent years, small quantity is not necessarily such a disaster. In fact, a large harvest might have been more of a problem than a small one. Except for those operating at the extreme luxury end of the wine spectrum, a big year often means depressed prices and difficulty selling inventories. On the premium end of the spectrum quality is always most important.

The press always tries to make overriding observations about quality. There is always an attempt to assign a score to a vintage. This concept has huge shortcomings. In a generally acknowledged great year, a given producer may have made critical mistakes and poor wine. In a difficult year such as 2003, the best wines may soar to great heights of quality, and best of all, individuality. The critical issues for each producer were the type of fruit growing in the vineyard, and the responses the vineyard manager and winemaker made. Some regions grow grape types that seem to love the heat. Many areas growing Cabernet, Syrah, and the like almost always wish for warmer, drier weather. In 2003 they surely got it. Producers who “went with the flow” and allowed the grapes to linger on the vine in spite of early ripening, have a chance at making wines of great substance and longevity. The underlying fruit character of many of these wines will be superior. Some who panicked and picked as soon as sugars reached normal ripeness levels likely made lighter, less complex wine. Those who waited may make “California style” wines. Whether this is a good or bad thing is perhaps a matter of personal taste.

Jacques Lardière, the esteemed winemaker of 30 years at Louis Jadot, recently visited Greenville with samples of his successes from 2003. An array of whites and reds from Burgundy’s famous vineyards showed depth and intensity of character, and most important of all, the personality and individuality of their home vineyards. This proved true for wines as diverse as Corton-Chalemagne (grand cru white wine from the heart of the Cote de Or) and Moulin-a-Vent (Cru Beaujolais from the South).

In speaking of the wines, Mr. Lardière indicated that the main technique employed was to let things be (a bit of keeping ones head when all around are losing theirs). The exceptional early ripening did not cause Jadot to harvest in a panic. Hence they avoided picking fruit with normal sugar but immature character. As it turns out, blessed rain late in the ripening process restored balance to the fruit and completed the cycle which stamps 2003 as an exceptional, as well as atypical year.

The elegance, balance, and cellar potential of the Jadot premium Burgundy of 2003 proves once again the danger in snap judgment (the only kind the wine press seems to make theses days). Gurus run around comparing notes when the juice is still bubbling in the tanks, and then they all quote each other as further proof. This is all incredibly self-referential. As usual, it has proved better to wait and sample the actual finished wine, than to speculate about the nature of the vintage.