| AN OUT OF THE ORDINARY VINTAGE • December 2003 | Press release,
Saint-Emilion, November 2003
THE 2003 HARVEST in the Châteaux of the Groupement de
Premiers Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Emilion
AN OUT OF THE ORDINARY VINTAGE
From a climatic point of view, the first nine months of 2003 could certainly be described as “out of the ordinary” : outside the normal seasonal averages for sunshine (greater), temperatures (higher) and rainfall (lower).
Overall, the vines were able to react positively to the stress caused by drought conditions in the soil. The terroir came into play more successfully here than elsewhere. The clay-limestone soils of the plateau and the slopes or those soils made up of gravel, successfully fulfilled their role as reservoirs of water.
The care and attention given to each plot also proved to be invaluable in helping the vines cope better with the extreme weather conditions during the 2003 spring (uneven grape colour change) and summer. In this exceptional context, the experienced eye and savoir-faire of the wine grower had an important role to play before any wine-making aspects had to be considered.
An out of the ordinary vintage inevitably means that establishing points of reference or comparison is much more difficult when evaluating a vintage which is still finishing its malo-lactic fermentation. However, those amongst us who tasted the vintages of the 1940s from the barrel tend to compare the 2003 with the 1945, 1947 or 1949 vintages.
According to what people are saying, at the present time of tasting, we do indeed have to go back to those post-war years in order to find similarities in aromas and structure to the current vintage in barrel, with its density and quality of tannins and elegance and richness.
A number of objective characteristics can however be stressed, together with the word “exceptional” to describe the 2003 harvest at the twelve châteaux of the Groupement de "Premiers de Saint-Émilion" :
- Early harvesting, which stretched out over a long period : picking began at the beginning of September for the earliest Merlot and lasted until the beginning of October for some Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Healthy grapes were brought in : no rot, rare cases of millerandage, outstanding ripeness.
- Tannins : extremely high quality, with good extractability contrary to pre-harvest forecasts.
- Alcoholic degree levels were sometimes very high, some batches reached 15 / 16°.
- Low yields : around 30 hectolitres per hectare (more often below this figure than above).
To really find out the qualities of this “out of the ordinary” vintage, it will be necessary to wait until the futures tastings. We look forward to seeing you there then, in April 2004.
Groupement de Premiers Grands Crus Classés : 12 châteaux - 257,46 hectares
Châteaux : Cheval Blanc - Angélus, Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), Beau-Séjour Bécot, Belair, Canon, Figeac, Fourtet, La Gaffelière, Magdelaine, Pavie, Trottevieille.
Contact us at :
info@saint-emilion-premiers.com
www.saint-emilion-premiers.com
Tel : + 33 (0) 557 745 081
Fax : + 33 (0) 557 745 082
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