Top red Burgundy comparative tasting: 2003 & 2004

Both the 2003 and 2004 vintages are ones which vignerons in France will remember, and likely not with fondness, for many years. These are two consecutive years with very different characters. [subscriber-content]Firstly, 2003 is famous for the August canicule and for being the earliest vintage on record, whilst 2004 was dominated by miserable summer weather which resulted in many lean, acidic wines. Extremes of weather have become commonplace in the past decade but, back in 2003, winemakers were tested to the limit.So it was highly illuminating to sample 38 wines from 2003 and 2004, at the recent tasting held at the offices of Burgundy specialists Goedhuis & Co. Scroll down to see Andy Howard MW's tasting notes and scores In a number of cases, producers showed both vintages, making this an ideal opportunity to compare and contrast the two years. The tasting was brought together by Sarah Marsh MW, through her extensive contacts in Burgundy. All of the wines tasted were sent direct from the domaines, so the storage of the bottles was probably as good as it could have been. The wines, which were all red, covered a wide range of Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune appellations, including Marsannay, Nuits-St-Georges, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Gevry Chambertin, Échezéaux, Clos de la Roche and Volnay with different quality levels on show, from village to Grand Cru level. Perhaps most importantly, some of the Côte d’Or’s finest producers were represented including Roumier, Dujac, Lafon and Rousseau to name but a few. Pinot Noir is renowned as a fickle grape variety, with the Côte d’Or the home of the world’s finest Pinots. Here, terroir is supposed to be king, so one of the most fascinating objectives of the tasting was to see whether the early dismissal of 2003 as an atypical and disastrous vintage for Pinot Noir was justified. Or whether the simplistic description of 2004 as watery, acidic and only fit for early-drinking (at best) was correct. Alternatively, would the impact of the vintage withdraw into the background as the influence of terroir came to the fore? Wine Spectator gave the 2004 vintage a lowly rating of 85 points which seems harsh. The growing season was dominated by a cold snap in June which delayed flowering, and cool, wet conditions in July/August leading to oidium. To make matters worse, major hailstorms affected producers in Volnay and Pommard. As with later vintages such as 2007 and 2008, fine weather in September saved the vintage, although yields were quite high along with malic acid. Green characters dominated many wines in their youth but fortunately this character was rarely seen throughout this tasting. 2004 is undoubtedly a lighter vintage, which displayed a greater degree of homogeneity of style at the tasting. In most cases, wines have improved since they were first bottled but only a few have the depth, concentration and layers of flavour to warrant further keeping. However, there are some very attractive wines which still retain lots of freshness. 2003 is significantly different, both in terms of character and consistency. Extreme heat was seen in August, following unusually high temperatures in June, with temperatures remaining over 40 degrees for the first two weeks of August with little respite overnight. Today, Burgundian winemakers would almost certainly take such extremes in their stride – back then this was a voyage of discovery and numerous mistakes. Holidays were cut short and the harvest began on 13 August, 10 days earlier than the previous record in 1893. Volumes were less than half the norm yet the best producers realised that gentle handling of their precious grapes was the way forward. Those who knew what they were doing stood a good chance of making some great, albeit not particularly typical, examples of Burgundian Pinot Noir. As with the 2004s, age has generally been kind to the wines, with many shedding their youthful fatness and perceived low acidity. There is greater density on the palate and a higher proportion have the ability to age further. On the downside, a few wines exhibited the raisined fruit notes that beset many during the heatwave, whilst some have retained angular, grainy tannins which are unlikely to soften. A good 2003 from a top producer should be memorable although, with the drastically reduced yields, is unlikely to be a bargain and difficult to source - an issue for the majority of these wines where they are no longer commercially available. One concerning aspect was the high incidence of wines affected by cork taint or simply dried out. Although a couple of bottles sparked debate as to whether TCA was the issue, 5 wines out of 38 were either undrinkable or very disappointing. [/subscriber-content] See Andy Howard MW's tasting notes and scores [wine-collection] You may also like Best Value Chablis 2018 – Top buys Christie’s Hospices de Beaune tasting: 2015 & 2016 Identifying the best Burgundy vineyardsBest Value Chablis 2018 – Top buys A Decanter guide to Chablis Premier Cru

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Top red Burgundy comparative tasting: 2003 & 2004

See Andy Howard MW’s tasting notes and scores

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