The 2009 Vintage
01 June 2010 Wine
At Yquem, every vintage is a work of art – a creation like a symphony, with different tempos.
In 2009, moderately warm, dry weather conditions over an unbroken span of six months made for a growing season of exceptional quality. Furthermore, several periods with cool evening temperatures did much to preserve acidity and aromatic potential.
After two very hot weeks in mid-August that speeded up ripening, showers later that month brought on a first wave of noble rot in early-ripening plots, especially ones with Sauvignon Blanc. Picking started in early September.
These grapes from the beginning of the harvest contributed acidity and fresh fruit aromas that are always a precious component in the final blend. Sauternes was fortunately spared the heavy downpour forecast on the 20th of September.
In fact, the amount of rain that did fall was ideal at this stage, giving rise to the total and homogeneous spread of Botrytis cinerea. Thanks to the week of sunny weather that followed, the grapes gradually became spotted, then pink-coloured as they reached the much-awaited “fully rotten” phase.
At this point, a new anticyclone arrived, bringing 10 days of sunny, very warm weather propitious to the crucial concen- tration process, which took place quickly and completely. So, starting on the 1st of October, the race was on! It was necessary to pick each plot and each separate grape variety efficiently and in exactly the right order to avoid overly-high sugar levels.
The vintage was extremely intense, and the pickers went out in wave after wave to harvest grapes at their absolute peak in each part of the vineyard. The crop was unequalled, even beating such benchmark vintages as 1990 and 1893.
Temperatures dropped on about the 13th of October, coinciding with the end of the harvest on Yquem’s famous late-ripening plots with clay soil. The last grapes were brought to the cellar on the 19th of October, just before a period of extremely stormy weather set in.
2009 is a vintage that benefited from extraordinarily favourable conditions for an incredible 6 months in a row.
Botrytis was all-pervasive due to 34 mm of rainfall on the 19th of September followed by 3 weeks of warm, dry weather. In short, this was a dream vintage where the only challenge was avoiding excessive sweetness in the grapes.
Fortunately, the capacity of the wine presses, coupled with the professionalism and responsiveness of the château team, enabled the estate to cope very well with the situation, and 2009 can undoubtedly be considered a great Yquem, the result of a great year for fruit… and a great year for Botrytis cinerea.
To know more about the 2009 vintage, you can see this vidéo realized by Millésima a few months ago :Or this one, realized by Le Point on Sauternes and Yquem.
