"25 Years" Dossier: How Burgundy changed its approach!

Return to the "25 years" dossier published in issue 149 of Bourgogne Aujourd'hui; a quarter of a century marked by a major change in philosophy in Burgundy, with the transition from the era of "modern" oenology in the 90s to the triumph of meticulous viticulture that respects the terroirs from the 2000s onwards. Find below the article published at the time.

Beyond passing fads, which have also, and examples abound, permeated the world of wine, one undeniable and heartening observation stands out: in a quarter of a century, Burgundy's wine industry has made significant progress. Pinot Noirs, greatly aided by climate change, and to a lesser extent Chardonnays, have never been so consistent, so pure, so precise, and, in short, so high-quality as they have been in the last decade. Burgundy has just transitioned from the era of triumphant oenology in the 1990s, where wines were "made" in the cellar, to an era of renewed appreciation for thoughtful, reasoned, increasingly precise, and environmentally conscious viticulture. Connoisseurs of fine wines can only rejoice.

A quick look in the rearview mirror.

Those over fifty remember the many disastrous vintages of the seventies and eighties: damp, cool, and capricious weather, leading to the harvest, sometimes in October, of washed-out grapes growing in soils bombarded with herbicides, ultimately producing Pinot Noirs that were more pink than red, and acidic, diluted Chardonnays, unworthy of the region's reputation. It was urgent to react, and Burgundy did so by undergoing its first revolution at the end of the eighties, driven in particular by the American critic Robert Parker. "It was Parker who made the reputation of certain estates. He brought with him a host of consultants who pushed their clients to produce dark, rich, and oaky wines," observes François Labet, a winemaker in the Côte de Beaune. Beaune and in the Clos -of- Vougeot Frédéric Weber, cellar master at Bouchard Père et Fils, in Beaune He recalls his training years: "When I passed my DNO (National Diploma of Oenology), we were taught to make very colored wines. However, Pinot Noir doesn't need to be black to be beautiful."

Wines made more in the cellar than in the vineyard

This era, which saw the clash between proponents of oenological modernism and those of tradition, gave rise to some excesses and a great deal of experimentation. Wines were then made more in the cellar than in the vineyard, and the goal for many was to extract the maximum amount of material: punch-downs, temperature increases at the end of fermentation, lees stirring for white wines, and finally aging in barrels, with a significant proportion of new oak. "I used to use 100% new barrels for the Grand Cru wines; I've been back down to 60% for several years now," explains Nadine Gublin, oenologist at Domaines Labruyère. Christian Amiot ( Domaine Amiot-Servelle in Chambolle- Musigny He makes the same observation: "I went as high as 100% new oak barrels, whereas today I don't exceed 50%." Of course, not everything from that era, which saw Burgundy regain its footing—and the prices of its wines—is to be discarded. The 1990s gave birth to some beautiful vintages, which, thanks to certain exceptional years, have managed to stand the test of time. The best 1999s, despite being an abundant vintage, are still showing their vibrancy. Great wines at their peak… Conversely, many wines, over-extracted and over-oaked, have become sluggish in the bottle. Because oenology can't do everything. Great wines are made in the vineyard. A self-evident truth for most Burgundians today.

The "climates" of world heritage

“Today, you can count the number of vineyards weeded on one hand, whereas twenty years ago, you could count the number of vineyards plowed,” smiles François Labet. Christian Amiot is doing this in this domaine , an exceptional figure: "I took over the domaine “My father-in-law started his vineyard in 1990; at that time, he was one of the few winemakers who plowed and hoed his vines.” “We’ve gained precision in the vineyard; soil work, biology, and biodynamics have led us to go further into the details and into a precise understanding of each plot,” adds Frédéric Weber. A corollary of this return to the fundamentals, and the rise of cleaner viticulture that promotes the microbiological life of the soil, is that the wines express the true nature of their terroir with greater transparency. They no longer need the “makeup” of the barrel or oenological techniques, and they express themselves with added purity and precision. This return to the fundamentals of Burgundy’s exceptional wine heritage has been recognized by UNESCO, which in 2015 inscribed the “climats” of the Côte-de-Nuits and the Côte-de-Venture on the World Heritage List. Beaune to the World Heritage of Humanity.

Text: Jean-Philippe Chapelon

The importance of plant material

It's the alpha and omega, the starting point and the essential step: no great wine without quality vine stock, these fine or very fine Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs that give rise to the most elegant cuvées. Aware of the imperative need to preserve the heritage of old vines that give birth to the great wines of Burgundy, Aubert de Villaine and Denis Feltzmann, director of Domaines Latour, created the Association for the Safeguarding of Burgundy's Grape Variety in 2008. Éric Bourgogne ( Domaine Count de Vogüe) took over as president in 2012. “The association, which now has thirty-nine members, was founded on the observation that more and more old vines are being uprooted and that the vine stocks of these old vines are lost forever. As early as 2008, it asked estates to select stock from their old massal vines that met the criteria for finesse. These stock stocks were marked and monitored for three consecutive years to verify that the same type, fine or very fine*, was present each time. The prospecting and monitoring were carried out in collaboration with ATVB**. In 2012, we planted our first plot of pinot noir , then another in 2013, one of chardonnay in 2014 and one of chardonnay and one Pinot Noir plot in 2015, totaling five plots for a total of 1.4 hectares. Each of these plantings is monitored for several years by the estate managers to ensure that the observed type is reflected in the rejuvenated vines. Today, we have over 800 lines—descendants of a mother vine—which will only be definitively selected once they have met the "fine" or "very fine" criteria three times. "This is the case for the 2012 plot, which has already had its selected lines grafted," explains Éric Bourgogne. The new grafts are intended for members of the association, but not exclusively. "We want certain lines, through the ATVB (Association des Vins de Bourgogne de Bourgogne), to benefit all of Burgundy, because this past is our future," concludes the president. One couldn't put it better.

*Very fine Pinot Noir grapes have well-ventilated stems and berries, without any contact between them; fine Pinot Noir grapes produce slightly more grapes, but without exceeding a yield of thirty to thirty-five hectoliters per hectare. The same distinction between fine and very fine applies chardonnay .

**Burgundy Viticultural Technical Agency.

"Opinion" of Aubert de Villaine, co-manager of domaine Romanée- Conti and special editor of the 25th anniversary issue of Bourgogne Aujourd'hui

In the 1970s, the terroir of Burgundy was described as a combination of soil, exposure, and microclimate, and little more was added to the discussion. It is only in the last twenty-five years that we have witnessed a remarkable and ever-growing awareness that producing great wines is no simple matter, that it involves complex natural processes, and that nothing exceptional can be achieved without an alliance with nature, without a deliberate and understood partnership with it. As Bacon's adage states, one can only command nature by obeying her. Thanks to the work of people like Claude Bourguignon and Yves Hérody, and thanks to the efforts of Gest and many others, we have discovered the complexity of soil life and the natural symbioses it contains, particularly the essential one between soil fungi and vine roots, known as mycorrhizae. We have discovered the active role of bacteria and, of course, the most visible role, that of earthworms, and that it is essential to respect these symbioses both to express the full potential of a terroir and to preserve the soils for the long term. From this, we have seen a growing interest in organic options, which also find allies in a favorable climate, a concern for a healthy environment for the winegrower, and a favorable climate. We realize that, at the level of plant material, selection and diversity within selection are key and inseparable concepts; that even with the greatest terroir in the world, a truly great wine will never be made without planting top-quality plant material. We understand that the search for the expression of place in wines is the very essence of Burgundy, its DNA, and when the idea arose of inscribing the millennia-old culture of the Côte d'Or vineyards on the World Heritage List, it was only natural that the word "climat," which Burgundy has always retained throughout the centuries to designate a delimited and named plot of vines, was chosen as the banner of the nomination and the emblem of an inscription that the World Heritage Committee unanimously endorsed.

Jean Philippe Chapelon

Freelance Journalist