1999

Jaboulet's Rhöne vintage report: The 1999 vintage will undoubtedly rank among the best wines of the last two decades.

After flowering a week earlier than in 1998, and in very favorable conditions, the vines suffered from climatic conditions during the summer period which required a fight against powdery mildew.
July was marked by a dry period during the first and last ten days of the month. The only significant rain occurred on the night o...

Bordeaux 1999/ The last year of the millennium was strange. The entire Bordeaux region had very good water reserves after a wet winter. Then, budburst in May under warm temperatures indicated a huge harvest. The weather became even warmer towards summer with some humidity. After early flowering at the end of May, storms made it difficult to pick berries. Then the heat wave followed with humidity and mildew problems in August. The weather changed to ideally dry and sunny well before harvest. Unfortunately, the harvest was largely spoiled by violent autumn storms with hail destroying the harvest of many vineyards on the Right Bank. The quality of the grapes in all regions remains at the same level despite the storms.

This vintage offered more than a hundred wines which are very pleasant at the moment. On the other hand, the fluctuation in quality between the wines was surprising.

1999 VINTAGE in Burgundy

The last harvest of the century

Generous yields and exceptional quality for Burgundy's 1999 harvest

Burgundy, France, November 1999 ? The 1999 Burgundy wine harvest was as generous in terms of yield as it was exceptional in terms of quality. According to the Burgundy Wine Bureau (BIVB), the climatic conditions permitted, as happens only rarely, the number of grape bunches per plant to exceed the average of the last five years.

The harvest was marked by sunny conditions and record levels of maturity in the crop. Though there was rain in the last few days, well-tended vines yielded a promising harvest of grapes rich in sugar. Volume is expected to total around 1.5 million hectolitres, which is higher than 1998.

The first two weeks of September in Burgundy saw temperature records being broken and, as a result, well-ripened grapes. Sugars were at an average of 180 g/l (16.8g of sugar yields 1% alcohol) for the Chardonnay grapes, the highest average figure reached at the start of the harvest in the last ten years. In the Mâconnais, levels approached those of 1995 (an exceptional vintage). While the sugar level of the grapes in the Côte Chalonnaise left other years far behind, in the Yonne, it fell between that of 1995 and 1996.

The Pinot Noir grapes also experienced record levels of maturity. One vineyard in the Côte de Beaune yielded grapes with sugars at 230g/l at the beginning of September. In the Côte de Beaune, sugars reached 1995 levels, and in the Saône-et-Loire and Yonne records were broken as well. On average, sugar levels were 25g/l above those for 1988. The polyphenolic structure of the grapes (which determines the colour and structure of the wine) was excellent.

Every gourmet knows that the right balance between sweetness and acidity with food is crucial. The same is true of grapes. The sugar level determines the alcoholic strength of the wine while acidity is responsible for the perfect balance to give a wine its keeping qualities. It is clear that the high sugar levels seen in the grapes this year are matched by excellent levels of total acidity derived from the tartaric acid naturally present in the fruit. In the Pinot Noir grapes, average levels of tartaric acid, at around 7.5g/l, are higher than the average for the last ten years and close to those of 1991 and 1993. Equally, average total acidity in the Chardonnay grapes matches the average of the last decade.

From mid-September onwards Burgundy saw the return of rain, especially at night, and this upset the smooth progress of the harvest to some extent. However, the health of the grapes remained excellent and the rain had only limited effects on the quality of the crop, especially in the case of those growers who had the foresight and concern for quality which led them to carry out crop thinning or a green harvest earlier in the season.

At Domaine Latour the picking started on the 17th September with the vineyards in Beaune, the average sugar levels were 12.5% potential alcohol with some vineyards, including the Corton Charlemagne at 14%! Our harvest was finished by 27th thus we avoided much of the heavy rains.

The wines have now finished their alcoholic fermentation and will spend the next 18 months in barrel acquiring structure, flavour and complexity. 

Our two sister wineries in the Valley of the Ardéche and further south in the Var both reported an excellent crop of healthy ripe fruit. 

In the Ardéche isolated patches of spring frost and summer hail reduced our yield, leaving a small quantity of fully ripe and concentrated fruit. The two week harvest began on 2nd September under clear blue skies as the Chardonnay d?Ardéche came in at 13.2° whilst the Grand Ardéche easily made 13.5°. The wines have good rich fruitiness, and supportive acidity which gives excellent ageing potential to these well balanced young wines.

The Pinot Noir at Domaine de Valmoissine enjoyed an exceptional year with optimal levels of sun and rain throughout the growing season. The harvest began on 13th September, and lasted for 10 days. Whilst there was a little rain on the 8th day, all the fruit was harvested at 13.5°. This will be Valmoissines? best year yet, already the wines are showing ample richness, subtleness and a silky smoothness.

A difficult start to the year led to early budbreak. There were some damaging hailstorms in early May, but the frost ultimately stayed away. The summer was overall warm and thanks to the hot and dry August, the grapes looked promising for the harvest. However, a damp September challenged producers and dilution was an issue for some. The 1999 harvest that started on September 15th produced a large yield (12,989 kg/ha) of sweet grapes that resulted in soft wines, low in acidity, which produced Champagnes that, in many cases, miss linearity and structure. Voluptuous and enjoyable with ripe, fruity, even exotic characters but in most cases for the medium-term only, even if the best seem to be maturing better than initially expected. The red wines of the year were exceptional and resulted in some outstanding prestige cuvée rosés, such as Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé and Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé.

In 1999, welcome spring rains reduced flower counts, decreasing the number of grape berries and increasing flavor concentration. Moderate summer temperatures allowed the vines to thrive and the fruit to ripen at a steady pace. A glorious Indian summer put the final touches of maturity on a fine harvest.

Australia Vintage Report:1999 also had a dry winter in Australia, with average temperatures for all months. However, there were a considerable amount of drizzly days at harvest time, causing some headaches with varieties susceptible to Botrytis cluster rot, ie. Grenache. It cleared up and the wines produced were all closed and slightly below average intensity. They look better and better.

Italy Vintage Report by Tb: 1999 continued the winning streak of exceptional vintages in Piedmont, Barolo and Barbaresco. This vintage was excellent in all respects, even if the heavy rainfall in August caused some mold problems in the plantations. Although the 1999s almost reached the same level as the 1995s, they did not match the excellence of 1996 and 1997.

In Tuscany, 1999 was an exceptionally warm year, although weather conditions were varied. Because the autumn rains did not arrive until after the harvest, a large percentage of Sangiovese grapes could be saved. In Tuscany, this vintage produced ripe and abundantly fruity wines. Many Chianti producers felt 1999 was a better year than 1997. The 1999s also offer the buyer better value than the high-priced 1997s.

Burgundy: The paradox of this vintage is that with such a large harvest the health of the grapes was excellent despite the Mildew attacks of early spring and that the phenolic maturity of the Pinot Noir is good to very good, for the Chardonnay it is more than 'acceptable.

The reds have a beautiful color and are well balanced, with ripe tannins and a good fruity character suggesting a good vintage for average longevity.

The Whites are crisp, with a small portion of malic acid resulting in a presence for rapid malolactic fermentation. The flavors are clean and fresh and the structure is good without being exceptional. The wines will generally be spoken ready to drink quite early. The harvest and character of the wine can be compared to 1979.

The fall of late 1998 was perfectly cold, January and February were milder than usual.

The spring started in late March through early April without significant frost damage. During the 6 to 7 weeks that followed, the rains and the cold caused strong mildew pressure on the vegetation and some additional treatments were necessary until June. Flowering took place at the beginning of June without any particular problem except for some light rain. From July to mid-August, little rain and sun, with more sun intensity for the second half of August. September saved this vintage with three weeks of perfect weather conditions, fresh northerly wind, cool temperatures and very intense sunshine.

DRC Burgundy Vintage Report: Words fail us when we try to describe the perfection of the grapes that passed through our sorting table in 1999! We have already seen some superb grapes over the last decade, in 1990 or 1996 for example, but this year, in our opinion, they surpass them all in finesse and ripeness. We were able to see many small grapes, "Millerandage", and, a sign of great years, the old vines, generally not very productive, gave this year a generous harvest of extremely fine grapes, sumptuous examples of the most beautiful Pinot Noir.

The history of a vintage is so rich, so rich, that it is not easy to define the most important factors, those which decided the course of events.

Once again, the scenario was disconcerting: who would have believed in spring with the rain falling every day and the threatening mold, with the grass growing in the vines without us being able to plow, that September 20 is that is to say very early in the season, we would harvest grapes which rank among the most beautiful of the century? !

It is precisely thanks to the exceptionally rainy spring that the vines were able to reserve enough water to get through, without suffering, the very hot and dry period that we experienced in Burgundy between August 15 and September 20. This subsequent balance allowed the leaves to fully function in their role as sugar producers and the grapes to ripen completely and harmoniously. This year we observed the almost miraculous combination of high sugar levels (very high degrees), good acidity (concentration in the berries) and perfectly healthy grapes. It is interesting to point out that the combination of these three factors in the same harvest only occurs very rarely.

Another exceptional phenomenon: the grapes which were just in the sun had “roasted” and contained concentrated sugar which was only released during fermentation. All the vats had a sort of natural “sweetening”, ending in higher degrees than the already high ones we noted at the start of fermentation.

In addition, although the grapes were in perfect health, we had a very selective harvest, leaving aside for a second the picking of overloaded vines or young ones that were recently replanted.

Only one regret: the good weather abandoned us after a few days of harvest and the rain disrupted the second part of it, but on the one hand the rain fell mainly during the night, which allowed us to harvest normally during the day, on the other hand they arrived too late to create an appreciable dilution.

Regarding the quantity, it is also exceptional: thanks to the beautiful setting of the clusters and the favorable conditions for flowering, the production is approximately the same as in 1990 or 1996.

Champagne Vintage Report by Salon: :The most abundant grape harvest in the history of Champagne! One of the warmest years of the century! But, on the heels of a fairly mild winter and a warm early spring came a series of hailstorms. The weather settled and the Chardonnay grape flowers bloomed on 11 June – magnificent. Rain in early July and a surprise month of August: a cold spell and an eclipse of the moon on the 11th. The harvest promised to be splendid, started well but ended with rain. Production, which was already significant, increased further. However, some winegrowers were able to reduce the weight of the vines at the right time: as a result, the wines gained in alcohol content (an average of 10%) with a low level of acidity of 6.3% due to the heat of the summer and rain during picking. Powerful, profound, lively and complex wines.