As if the imprint of the 2020 growing season, an early one from budbreak to harvest, was not distinctive enough, the vintage was indelibly marked by the outbreak of COVID, sending France, along with many countries, into lockdown for several months.
“[2020] was very special, not only for the wines, but the world,” remarked Perrine Fenal, co-director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, referring to the global pandemic that curtailed all but essential activities for most of the year.
“The wines are a good expression of a stressful year,” she continued, describing the hot, dry summer. Fortunately, agriculture was deemed an essential activity, and work in the vineyards and cellars continued uninterrupted by COVID.
“The year was also marked by a sense of serenity. It was so quiet, there were no tourists or visitors,” she recalled. “The workers felt privileged to be outside, while most people, including their family members, were inside.”
Hear more about harvesting in France during 2020 lockdowns on Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast, episode 6, and stay tuned for episode 8, coming soon, starring DRC's Aubert de Villaine!
Fenal was in New York recently with co-director Bertrand de Villaine to present the 2020 vintage of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s red and white Burgundies, hosted by longtime importer Wilson-Daniels.
Despite the heat and drought conditions, resulting in an early harvest, the wines show great purity of fruit, elegance and, above all, superb balance. Furthermore, these Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are classic representations of the domaine’s climats, very expressive of their origins, based on my experience tasting the wines from barrel and bottle each vintage for nearly 20 years now.
The Corton Prince Florent de Merode ($858) exudes deep, dark and spicy aromas accompanied by flavors of black cherry, blackberry and earth. Rich and a bit wild, it finishes with refined tannins and excellent length, even elegant (95 points, non-blind).
There is a Vosne-Romanée Cuvée Duvault-Blochet in 2020 ($467), the seventh offering of this premier cru since the 1999 vintage. The blend changes each cuvée, following the replanting schedules of the grands crus. This rendition contains a proportion of young vines from La Tâche. It reveals floral, cherry, strawberry and cinnamon flavors matched to an elegant profile that exhibits fine balance and length (93 points, non-blind).
Echézeaux ($883) starts out rich and fruity, with a succulent feel to its black cherry, black currant and violet notes, remaining vibrant, refined and long (96 points, non-blind). It’s always an interesting contrast to the greater volume and flesh of the Grands-Echézeaux ($1,431), which offers more density and structure behind its black cherry and blackberry fruit than its sibling. It’s a bit brooding today, yet with fine-grained tannins (96 points, non-blind).
The next pair also reveals the classic character of DRC’s 2020s. The Romanée-St.-Vivant ($2,362) is austere in aroma, hinting at blackberry and black currant flavors aligned to a compact frame. There is tension and finesse, with a cool, reserved feel today, yet fine overall harmony and super finish (97 points, non-blind). Its neighbor, Richebourg ($2,362), is the opposite. Flamboyant and expressive, it boasts cherry, strawberry, floral and spice aromas and flavors. Perhaps less elegant on the finish, it’s hard to deny its charm, succulence and lingering aftertaste (97 points, non-blind).
La Tâche ($2,861), per usual, is the outlier, darker and more brooding than the others, featuring sandalwood and spice aromas, while the flavors evoke black cherry, black currant, licorice and exotic spices. The most dense and tannic of the range, it combines power and elegance (98 points, non-blind).
Though more aligned with the characteristics of Richebourg, RSV and Echézeaux, Romanée-Conti ($8,881) is always a step above, delivering floral, strawberry, red currant and cherry aromas and flavors. There is incredible finesse here, ethereal, complex and super long (99 points, non-blind).
The two whites stood in contrast: the Corton-Charlemagne ($1,799), sleek and minerally (97 points, non-blind); the Montrachet ($4,891), ripe, opulent and with a touch of the exotic (99 points, non-blind). The former exhibited white flowers, lemon oil, pear and mineral notes matched to a creamy texture, turning more austere on the finish; the latter flirted with tropical fruit flavors, framed with lime blossom, citronella, peach and apricot. Though sumptuous, the Montrachet is fresh and long, with a well-defined beginning, middle and end.
In recent years, warmer growing seasons have resulted in earlier budbreaks; in 2020 it began March 20, roughly a month earlier than the long-term average. This foreshadowed the development of the vines throughout the season.
The vegetal growth was consistent until April, when the weather turned hot and dry. Flowering was early, during the third week of May. The dominant wind was from the north, bringing with it dry and favorable conditions. There were also cool nights in 2020, distinguishing it from 2019 and 2018.
A heat wave from the last week of July until mid-August stressed the vines, causing them to shut down in some parcels, particularly on thinner soils. The timing of the harvest was crucial to avoid overripe fruit. Picking began in the old-vine parcels of the grands crus on Aug. 23, finishing Sept. 9. The potential alcohol was greater than 13 degrees.
“We really have to pay attention not to make any big mistakes,” said de Villaine, explaining that there have been trials with different rootstocks, higher canopies, changes in pruning, cover crops and attention to working the soils to adapt to climate change. “There are no radical changes, just observing the vineyards.”
The DRC team seeks the quality of expression of each climat in each vintage. If the range of wines in 2020 is any indication, they are working at a very high level.
