2004 Burgundy Vintage

The season got off to a good start. The vines made up for the short 2003 crop by sprouting vast quantities of buds, and flowering in the Cote de Beaune was successful. June and July were cool, and a cool, grey early July set the scene for rampant oidium, so conscientious growers worked hard with sulphur sprays. In Chablis, June was dry but cool and July was warmer but short on sunshine. Thunderstorms and sometimes hail punctuated what Jancis Robinson called "a pretty miserable summer", with particularly notable damage on 19 July and 23 August, especially around Pommard and Volnay and in the north of the Cote de Nuits as far as Chambolle-Musigny. Numerous hailstorms struck the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune. In the Cote de Beaune, August was cloudy and relatively cold, rain swelled the berries, and in Chablis continuous rain and humidity encouraged grey rot. By the end of August, sugar levels in the Cote de Beaune were perilously low. Then the weather turned. The whole of September was not hot but clear, with exceptional light, and a light north wind helped concentrate both sugar and acidity and keep the fungus at bay. Chablis had three warm weeks in September. The fine spell lasted until all the grapes were picked, and growers aimed to pick as late as possible while finishing before the October rain. Those who picked late were rewarded with more substantial flavours, but sorting tables were sorely needed. The crop was large: Frank Grux of Maison Olivier Leflaive estimated average yields across the Cote at 15-20% higher than in 2003.

• Vast quantities of buds after the short 2003 crop; successful flowering in the Cote de Beaune
• Cool June and July, rampant oidium from a grey early July, and a cloudy, relatively cold August in the Cote de Beaune
• Hail on 19 July and 23 August hit Pommard, Volnay and the northern Cote de Nuits
• A clear September with a north wind; a large crop, 15-20% above 2003 across the Cote

Jancis Robinson reported that producers of white wine were generally happier than those of red. For Decanter's Sarah Marsh MW the vintage seemed to suit Meursault, with good consistency throughout the hierarchy from Bourgogne upwards, while fruit ripeness was less consistent in Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, and St-Aubin and Auxey-Duresses gave very pretty, pure wines. Robinson, by contrast, singled out seriously successful whites from Meursault, Puligny and especially Chassagne, found many impressive Chablis at relative bargain prices, and praised lovely whites from the Maconnais. For reds, the Cote de Nuits was less touched by hail than the Cote de Beaune and more consistent. In the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune a long, uneven veraison made sorting and cellar rigour essential, and quality was uneven, though with many successes.

• Whites: Meursault showed good consistency from Bourgogne upwards
• Whites: Chablis looked a relative bargain, with Meursault, Puligny and Chassagne praised
• Reds: the Cote de Nuits was less hail-hit and more consistent
• Reds: a long, uneven veraison in the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune made sorting essential

Acidity and no excess of weight were the keynote in both colours, the opposite of the 2003 heatwave vintage, and 2004 may most resemble 2001. Malic acid was sometimes four times higher than in 2003, malolactic fermentations ran long, and many wines were still in malolactic in June 2005. Marsh called it a mixed vintage, good but not great at best, with firm to racy acidity and many fresh, elegant whites; the best very pure, mineral and vertical. Chablis showed lemon and green apple aromas, and Cote de Nuits reds had an intense ruby colour and supple tannins. In February 2006 Robinson judged that the 2004s did not look suited to particularly long-term cellaring.

• High acidity and light weight in both colours, the opposite of 2003
• Malic acid sometimes four times higher than in 2003, with long malolactic fermentations
• A mixed vintage, good but not great at best, with fresh, elegant whites
• A grower's year in which vineyard work was rewarded

Selection separated the successes. Olivier Lamy of Domaine Hubert Lamy harvested in several passes, and Gerard Boudot of Etienne Sauzet was forced to green harvest. Marsh's best whites included Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet, Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Truffieres and Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault Tessons. Robinson's superior red producers included Domaine Armand Rousseau, Domaine Roumier, Domaine Georges Mugneret and Louis Jadot, whose Pommard Rugiens came from a badly hailed part of the vineyard; her superior white producers included Domaine Guy Roulot, Domaine Michel Niellon and Domaine William Fevre.

• Whites to seek: Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet and Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Truffieres
• Reds to seek: Armand Rousseau, Roumier and Georges Mugneret
• Louis Jadot's Pommard Rugiens came from a badly hailed plot and impressed
• Further whites to seek: Guy Roulot, Michel Niellon and William Fevre