Some very interesting observations and producer/ vintage assessments
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Iâve been having conversations with various people who have been to the region, and there is real concern about what Antonio highlights here. Itâll be interesting to see what houses make what vintages, and how they turn out.
Itâs nice to see that some growers will have more production coming online too. Hopefully that will bring some prices back down.
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Care to give us a tiny bit of insight?
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Good article. Sounds like we may be in for a rough ride with '20-'21-based NVs (and at high prices to boot). I still remember how dreadful the '10-'11-based cuvees were.
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While I largely agree regarding 2011, I have enjoyed a number of 2010/2010-based Champagnes (e.g., Vilmart, Moussé, etc.).
One of the more interesting things he said was his qualification of his earlier take on the 2015s. Not that he has backed off his assessment of the vegetal influences, but he noted that the influence is less pronounced in the higher end bottlings. I think the point for the 2020s, where he has picked up similar underripe qualities, is that the NVs might show it more than the higher end bottlings.
But that all makes intuitive sense given that for high end bottlings producers can/are more selective. Thatâs not some meaningful insight worth paying for.
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The link isnât (or wasnât) paywalled.
The issue with 2015 and 2020 is that the herbal/savory/grassy notes were not present in the still wines and were not present at the time of blending and bottling. These appeared after the fact and were a âsurpriseâ. Based on the growing season, there were at least a couple predictions that 2015 might show some uniqueness over time, but I donât know anyone who expected to see it in 2020. As for the 2015 higher end wines not showing this character, it wouldnât be because of any type of winemaking choice based on aromatics or taste, but would come down to the fact that the higher end bottles often use fruit from the best locations. The better plots/locations did a much better job of dealing with the stress in 2015 and these vines had a limited shut down period when compared to most locations. In general, the best plots/locations do the best in the most challenging or strange years. This is where the Champagne Cru hierarchy actually makes some sense.
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One other challenge with years like 2015 and 2020 is that not all the wines show the herbal/savory/grassy note and it doesnât seem to be linked to phenolic ripeness, when you harvested, or potential alcohol at harvesting. Wines harvested early at below 10% might show it and wines harvested later at above 12% might show it; or, a wine might not show it. We also donât know how these wines will evolve and how much of an impact time on lees, dosage, post-disgorgement aging, etc⊠will have on the wines. 2011 was classic under-ripeness. That isnât 2015 or 2020. In many cases, the grapes were ripe or at least appeared phenolically ripe. Tasting the grapes, juice, still wines gave no initial clues to the phenolic under-ripeness. It is telling that the top sites especially from those who do the best work in the vineyards donât show much or any of this 2015 characteristic we are discussing.
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Even more telling is that Terry Theise beat Antonio to the punch on 2020. 
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If thatâs true, how do you explain it? The best plots in Burgundy are ones that ripened best in earlier times, some of which I assume can ripen too early with warmer and earlier seasons. Is that not the same in champagne?
Sure, in warmer years, the grapes will ripen earlier. That is true for the entire region and declared harvest dates and actual picking dates will change based on the year. In years like 2015 and 2020, my theory is that it had more to do with heat stress and water/nutrients available to the vines. The best plots/locations tend to have more chalk and therefore more storage to get vines through the tougher periods. The chalk also tends to be closer to the surface in these plots/locations so even if the roots arenât always forced to dig deep for it, you can gain benefits.
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The shorter growing season also doesnât help things - especially in years where the vines may see more stress than is typical. I look at it like raising a kid where you stress them out, withhold nutrition at times, and then tell the kid they are on their own as an adult at 14. Yes, some may wind up excelling, but probably not the best formula for success for the masses.
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So itâs due to bad parenting?
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Telling? What does it tell you? It tells me nothing
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The critic got beaten to the punch by the retired guy.
The thing is probably around 1/3 of the people will find the 2020 âflavorâ a negative, 1/3 will find it, but not see it as detracting, and 1/3 wonât notice it all. As of right now, I am in the âfind it, but not to be detractingâ camp. A number of winemakers I have talked to who have it in their wines either donât like it for the flavor profile in general or donât like it because they donât think it should be there (even if they donât find it to be a negative).
- Edited to correct for poor grammar in the last sentence.
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The retired guy has more time on his hands
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But less access.
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