© S. Peter Smith, 1997
Bordeaux Harvest '97: the Final Report
"It's never over 'til it's over!"
We're talking wine presses, of course. The harvest is finally over in Bordeaux, the free-run wine is flowing into new barrels, the caps are being pressed and the true character of the vintage is beginning to evolve as the wine starts to show it's potential.
You can never predict the vintage until the very last day, as a day or two of rain or sun at any time during the picking can make a huge difference.
1997 is an interesting year. The character of the vintage was largely shaped in the late spring, when a combination of early heat and late cold weather combined to produce a very long, uneven flowering. This results in grapes of varying maturity at the time of picking. Winemakers therefore have to be even more diligent than usual in their selection of grapes. Many chateaux went through the vines several times picking grapes that were ripe, and leaving others on the same vine to further mature.
At first some were afraid of possible rain in September and started picking early, but in fact we had an incredible "Indian Summer" with the most perfect weather that many could recall for a harvest. Consequently as the weather improved the picking slowed, until by late September the remaining grapes had high sugar levels and very good maturity.
If you want the best up-to-date appraisal, go into the Santa Ana Wine Club store and see Erin Giambalvo, The Wine Club's representative on this post-harvest tour. Erin has been taking copious notes and will tell you not only how the 97's are shaping up, but also how your '96 futures are showing (extremely impressive!). In Latour today we passed many pallets of '95 ready to ship to the States, so at least you won't have to wait too much longer to see these! We also tasted the '96 Margaux this afternoon: "superb" was the adjective most heard rippling through the group!
To give you an idea: Paul Pontallier, manager of Chateau Margaux draws similarities between his '97 and the great '86 vintage here. Denis Malbec, Cellar Master at Latour had lovely grapes and excellent maturity, and everyone there is thrilled with the vintage. At Canon La Gaffeliere in St. Emilion the grapes I saw in the vineyard were some of the cleanest and healthiest anywhere, and again they are looking forward to a very good wine.
When I was in Burgundy in late September things were looking really nice. The grapes were healthy and had good ripeness and maturity, and the weather was as good as Bordeaux's. I'll be back there again on October 27 with the Wine Club's select group of connoisseurs - Erin was having such a great time in Bordeaux that he decided to stay on for a few days in Burgundy himself, so ask him about it!
If you've been on a tour, thanks for letting us share a little of France with you - if you haven't been yet, try it: we think you'll really like it - ask those who've been!