2015 Champagne Vintage

The winter was normal, with a few frosts and surplus rain, and a damp spring left the soils well stocked with water, which proved fortunate. The year started without incident, and flowering went through in very favourable conditions. Then the rain stopped. The Comite Champagne dates the drought from late May and the UMC from mid-May, and both run it to mid-August; the Comite called the heat and drought never seen before. Rain over that spell averaged 79 mm across the vineyard against a normal 210 mm, just 39 percent of normal, and March to August sunshine was on a par with 2003. By 20 July the drought, together with heatwaves in June and July, had slowed vine growth. Rain returned in the second half of August, with over 100 mm on a western fringe of the vineyard and 60 to 90 mm elsewhere, which swelled the berries and brought rapid ripening. Picking began on 29 August in the most precocious sectors, with official start dates running from 2 to 18 September, and finished by 28 September. On 20 July a marketable yield of 10,500 kg/ha was set, of which 500 kg/ha came from the reserve, and by late September the 10,000 kg/ha maximum was expected to be reached in most sectors.

Persistent dry, hot weather likely played a part in a quiet year for disease. In July, Decanter quoted UMC president Jean-Marie Barillere saying vineyards were in a good state, with "not a lot of pressure" from mildew. Diseases and pests stayed discreet through the season, and the foliage stayed green to the end with no late-season downy mildew. Powdery mildew (oidium) was the one problem that stood out: pressure was strong but well contained, under close watch until mid-July, and its impact on the harvest was about 1 percent across the vineyard. Grey rot appeared from late August, mostly on black grapes and especially Meunier in some plots, while the Cote des Bar stayed free of it and Chardonnay was spared. Bunch health was perfect at the end of August and excellent once picking was done.

The heat and drought caused very great variation in sugar levels and bunch weights between varieties, sectors and even plots, so growers and houses had to choose start dates and picking circuits with care. Musts averaged around 10.5% vol., sometimes up to 11.5% vol., with total acidity around 7 g H2SO4/L. Malic acid fell from 11.3 g/l on 20 August to 5.7 g/l at the last sampling, placing 2015 just behind 2003 for low malic acid. Bunch weights at harvest were below the ten-year average, but in the wettest spots some Meunier reached a record 200 g per bunch. Only 1976, 2003, 2007 and 2011 had seen the harvest start before 5 September. Rain returned in the second ten days of September, conditions that proved harder on the pickers than on the grapes.

The 10,500 kg/ha set yield, the same figure as in 2014, was based on likely demand and stock levels, according to Barillere. In July he added that the number of bunches per vine was low, "particularly for the Pinot Meunier." The UMC later said "surprise" would likely remain one of the terms used for the 2015 yields: provisional figures gave an average agronomic yield of 11,700 kg/ha, a value not yet consolidated, with strong disparities by sector tied to local rainfall. At the end of September the Comite Champagne said the harvest pointed to an excellent vintage and that many were already calling it great, while cautioning that the first tastings of the vins clairs in spring would be needed to confirm it. The UMC called the season exceptional and compared it with 2003, while stressing it was not quite a replica.