The fourth vintage made in Chassagne, a year with some new things. Between new plantings and capricious weather, Armand tells you about his 2016 vintage .

Let's set the context with some general data on this vintage.

2016 in Burgundy

The 2016 vintage in Burgundy is:

• The very rainy months of May and June, favoring mildew
• A cold snap from northern Europe at the end of April
• A historic jelly in Burgundy
• Early bud burst due to a mild winter

The 2016 vintage, a year of novelties

The 2016 vintage is a year of novelties, in particular with the plantations of Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge in the commune of Pommard. The novelty of this project continues with the decision to plant at a density of 5500 vines / ha, much lower than that of the other plots of the estate. The goal is, on these more clay soils, to be able to plant grasses intended to fertilize the soil without having to add fertilizer or compost. We were thus able to sow vetch, peas, radishes and alfalfa.

The year was marked by a rather mild winter which resulted in a fairly early budburst. This earliness of the vintage will quickly be stopped by a big cold snap from northern Europe at the end of April, a historic frost that will not fail to surprise everyone.

Burgundy has always been very sensitive to spring frosts, known as hoarfrost, which mainly affects the low hillsides. In 2016, it was a black frost that came down severely on certain sectors, completely randomly.

After a rather easy 2015 vintage, 2016 is starting with low morale. Nothing is improving since the months of May and June are very rainy and this favors the appearance of mildew.

Fortunately, the arrival of summer allowed the vines to regain their health thanks to the very dry and sunny months of July and August.

With severe frosts, we are attacking the harvest in mid-September, starting on September 17 with the Chevalier-Montrachet. Despite a fairly destructive spring, we realized at harvest time that the vines, even when frozen, were able to take advantage of the spring rains to form very attractive fruits.

The style of my wines for this 2016 vintage

Despite a few difficult months and the loss on certain plots, I did not expect to ensure an average yield of 35 hl / ha on the estate.

In reality, the 2016 vintage is close to the 2013 vintage in its very marked Burgundian character.

The Chardonnays offer great indulgence and freshness while the Pinot Noirs offer elegance and structured wines.

Armand Heitz