2000
Vintage Report
Your Worldwide Guide for Vintage 2000 Part 2
By Jens Strecker
Welcome to an overview of the first vintage of
the millennium. In a three part series, we will visit the
vineyards of the Southern Hemisphere (Part
1), Europe and North America,
reviewing the weather and other impacts on the vineyards of the
focus area in 2000 and discussing what the 2000 vintage from this
region has to offer.
Part 2 – Vintage 2000 from Europe
The following is an overview of the European Vintage 2000
categorized by country:
FRANCE
Vintage 2000 was an exceptional year for Bordeaux, good for the
Southern regions, and mixed in Burgundy.
Bordeaux
The 2000 vintage is one of the best in the last 50 years and maybe
one of the top five in the last century, as the Bordeaux area has
had the best weather of this vintage. A warm, but not too hot summer
and sunshine throughout August and September resulted in excellent
grape quality – very ripe grapes with great concentration and power.
Even the late ripening Cabernet Sauvignon could be harvested under
optimum conditions and in perfect ripeness. The only negative was
the sweet wine regions of Sauternes and Barsac, where heavy rain
came down in mid October ruining what had started as an excellent
vintage.
Burgundy
It was a mixed and not so easy year for Burgundy. In general it was
a better vintage for white than for reds. The Burgundy reds from
2000 are light in color, body and tannins due to several storms that
hit particularly hard in this region. The Chardonnay grape however
shows ripe wines with good concentration and balanced acidity.
Champagne
Like Burgundy, the Champagne region had some difficulties in 2000
due to wet weather and hail storms. It’s a winemaker’s vintage,
which means that good wine making skills were needed to deal with
the problems making it possible for some good wines to come out of
the 2000 harvest. Look for Champagnes from Deutz, Fabrice Rosset,
Duval-Leroy and Delbeck.
Alsace
This region had a pretty good vintage, especially for Riesling. The
wines will be dry with good concentration and balanced acidity. It’s
also a vintage with new rules for Alsatian grand cru wines, which
reduce yields and demand higher natural sugar levels.
Rhone
The Rhone region had its third good vintage in a row. A wet spring
with some cool weather in June and July and warm, but not too hot
weather in August and September allowed grapes to harvest in perfect
conditions. Syrah and Syrah blended wines will have especially
wonderful aromas, fruit flavors, concentration and structure.
Loire
The Loire region had a mixed vintage with lots of wet weather and
even some hail which fell in the Sancerre region. You will find good
quality from Muscadet wines where the harvest started early before
the rain.
The South
Due to fine harvest conditions, a cool July and not so hot August,
growers throughout the region predict concentrated, flavorful reds.
Look for Syrah and Mouvedre.
ITALY
The effect of extreme weather shows an uneven quality of the
Italian harvest. The north had cooler temperatures and heavy rain
while central and southern Italy had more problems with the heat.
The Piedmont region had the best conditions due to dry,
warm weather in August and September. The grapes have a lot of
fruit, concentration and aroma.
In Veneto and northeastern Italy it was a better year for
whites than reds, except Valpolicella and Amarone which had a small
but excellent harvest.
The weather conditions were most extreme in Tuscany due to
extreme heat in August. But with careful selection, the reds from
the 2000 vintage in Tuscany will have a very good quality.
The southern part of Italy had an excellent vintage were
the local grape varieties of Nero D’Avola and Negroamano benefited
from the heat. These wines will have big, intense, well-balanced,
concentrated fruit flavors.
SPAIN
Spain experienced a mixed vintage. The best results came from the
Rioja and Ribera del Duero region where summer heat
changed to cool temperatures before harvest time, which resulted in
ripe, concentrated grapes with good color. The Priorat region
had similar conditions and an almost as good quality. The Penedes
region however had rain storms after a summer draught resulting in a
difficult harvest.
PORTUGAL
Almost ideal weather started in June for the Duero region
with only one rainstorm passing through in late September during
harvest but without affecting the harvest. The Ports will be
full-bodied with intense aromas; however, it’s too early to predict
the vintage 2000 quality. The Alentejo region also shows a
more or less excellent vintage.
GERMANY
The German vineyards experienced a mediocre vintage due to higher
than average rain in July, August and September, especially in the
Mosel and Rheinhessen regions. But very selective
harvesting produced some elegant, well-balanced, concentrated,
aromatic white wines, mainly Riesling. Due to the weather you will
only find a small quantity of Auslese, Beerenauslese and
Trockenbeerenauslese wines.
AUSTRIA
The Austrian 2000 vintage is good to very good. The weather was warm
and dry, especially in the summer. Overall the harvest started early
because of the dry summer and produced elegant, concentrated
fruit-flavored wines.
Jens Top Picks:
Michel Bernard Cotes du Rhone Roquerousse 2000 (France) $10
A lusty, easy drinking wine offering notes of dark , spicy red fruit
complimented by herbal aromas like lavender and jasmin. With it’s
solid medium-body and soft tannins, the Rocquerousse is extremely
versatile with regards to food.
Louis Bernard Cotes du Rhone Village 2000 (France) $12
Dark colored, medium-bodied red with delicious fruit flavors of dark
fruit and blackberries with notes of spice, mocha and coffee. Sweet,
silky tannins on the smooth finish.
Joseph Drouhin Saint Veran 2000 (France) $11
Intense floral notes from the Chardonnay grape paired with elegant
pear, apple, citrus and lime flavors with a touch of oak nuances in
the finish.
Castello di Verduno Dolcetto D’Alba 2000 (Italy) $14.50
One of the most overlooked wineries in Piedmont’s Langhe region.
100% Dolcetto with purple undertones, bold and black cherry fruit
flavors. Austere but with vibrant freshness and well-balanced
acidity with a long, silky finish.
Tiamo Rosso 2000 (Italy) $10
One of the best southern Italian reds! A wine with intense and ripe
flavors of blackberry jam and sun-dried fig. Add to the mix aromas
of anise, black pepper and fresh pipe tobacco and you have got
dinner in Brindisi. The grapes in this wine are Sangiovese and
Primitivo.
Marques de Borba Alentejo 2000 (Portugal) $13.50
Excellent value from Portugal. Spicy scents of blackberries and
plums with light coffee notes and a touch of smoke in the finish.
When is the last time you have tasted a Trincadera, Aragones and
Periquita grape variety?
Georg-Albrecht Schneider Riesling 2000 (Germany) $12.50
Soft and elegant Riesling from the Rhinehessen region with ripe
golden apples and citrus fruit on the nose and a touch of pineapple
aroma. On the palate it has a well-balanced crispy, fruity sweetness
with a good touch of residual sugar. Hey, did anybody say something
about lightly sautéed trout fillets served with haricot verts tossed
in shallots and butter? |
