My first visit to taste 2018s was at Jean-Marie Fourrier’s Gevrey-Chambertin estate. Not all wines were available to taste as some were being transferred from barrel to holding tank.
Harvesting began on 6 September and there was a 4-1/2 or 5 day picking window, said Jean-Marie. He went with the 100-days-from-flowering rule because when he tasted grapes in the vineyards prior to then, they were sweet, but did not have flavor (i.e., they had physiological maturity but not phenolic maturity). Harvesting took place from 6.30 in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon; later in the afternoons, the grapes were too warm to bring in, and Jean-Marie did not want to use dry ice to cool them because he believes that it is too brutal to the gapes exposed directly and also that it provides uneven cooling.
There was no acidification here, and as usual in the past, no whole cluster fermentation (but in 2019 there will be about 20% whole clusters). Malolactic fermentations took place in the spring.
Alcohols range up to 13.8% (Clos Sorbés) (Continue reading here.)