It is totally premature to judge the quality of the 2002 vintage at this stage. Nevertheless we find very interesting to read the pro's reports on the recent harvest and how they assess the potential of their wines.

Click on the appellation's name for more details on the region

Frédéric Engerer - Château Latour - Pauillac  

Jean-Philippe Delmas - Château Haut-Brion - Pessac-Léognan, Graves

Philippe Delfaut - Château Palmer - Margaux 

Nicolas & Christophe de Bailliencourt dit Courcol - Château Gazin - Pomerol

Francis Mayeur - Château d'Yquem - Sauternes - Barsac

Corinne Reulet - Chateau la Tour Blanche - Sauternes - Barsac

Frédéric Engerer - Château Latour - Pauillac

Harvest Chronicle at Château Latour - Pauillac

The winter of 2001/2002 was extremely dry (we recorded a water shortage of 200 mm from October 2001 to April 2002), whereas in spring and even in summer, the vegetative cycle suffered from consecutive rain showers, thwarting in the beginning of June flower booming. Afterwards, a cooler weather prevented some of the most fragile inflorescences to bloom. As a result, we quickly noticed flower abortions on the Merlots and “millerandage” on the Cabernets Sauvignon, therefore inducing a significant loss in crop. 

The weather in July and August was not any better, nevertheless a few long sunny spells induced the start of maturation. In fact, this year, we will need at Château Latour to be even more patient that we were in 2001. A nice weather, sunny and dry in September, combined with the beneficial contribution of the wind from the East on the natural concentration of the berries, can give us the hope of producing a good vintage. 

http://www.chateau-latour.fr/index_fra.html

Jean-Philippe Delmas - Château Haut-Brion - Pessac-Leognan, Graves

Harvest Chronicle at Château Haut-Brion - Pessac-Leognan-Graves
When all goes well the grapes benefit from the ideal ripening conditions which can assure a perfect maturation. The 2002 vintage is no exception to this rule. The great Bordeaux vintages always hail from very dry years. It is in these very conditions that the 2002 vintage was born. This year has been one of the driest that Bordeaux has ever known. The rather feeble precipitation was evenly distributed over the growing season, thus allowing the vine to benefit fully from this constancy of Mother Nature's irrigation. This consistency was also apparent in the temperatures even though the summer was cooler than usual which delayed the ripening of the grapes. All winemakers were worried at the beginning of September. Then suddenly we found ourselves benefiting from ideal weather conditions for a harvest time. At Haut-Brion we were blessed by relatively warm weather accompanied by very dry winds coming predominantly from the North and the East. The conditions became ideal and allowed our grapes to ripen without the moisture and botrytis that can often threaten their state during the autumn season. 

The surveillance of the grapes striving to achieve their zenith of perfect maturation is given great significance. Such is the case at Haut-Brion. Every day we go into the vineyards to taste our grapes, first the skins and then the pips. There is nothing that can replace the sensory perception that has been acquired through years of experience. Only such a practised team, working in symbiosis, can attain and use this knowledge to judge the perfect moment for harvesting. Using this technique we decided to pick the whites between the 9th and the 17th of September, the merlots between the 19th and the 27th of September, the cabernets francs and sauvignons between the 30th of September and the 8th of October. All of these were harvested and brought to the vat rooms without a single drop of rain!

Today it is still difficult to judge the true quality of the vintage. To date, the tannic structure of the first vats is very smooth and harmonious, the fruit is very present and the abundant tannins are both soft and ripe. The dry weather conditions provided rather small grapes containing little, though rather concentrated juice. The crop is small in size. This is especially and surprisingly true for the cabernets, which we had expected to produce a higher yield than the merlots that had suffered from "coulure" in the spring. The over-all crop size is approximately 30% smaller than usual.

To summarise, I would say that we have very many promising indicators that lead us to believe that this will be another very good vintage for our wines.

http://haut-brion.com/home/en/langflash-en.php

Philipppe Delfaux - Château Palmer - Margaux

Harvest Chronicle at Château Palmer - Margaux

October 8, 2002
Fortunately we finished the harvest yesterday afternoon, and we can be thankful that nature helped is, if only near the end, with the excellent maturity of the grapes. Not a single drop of rain fell since we began picking on September 26th! We could never have imagined in August the natural richness of sugars and phenolic components. Fermentation has been very rapid in spite of the high level of alcohol and the pumping over is being done in moderation, since the extraction of tanins and color has been so easy. We have the impression of a vintage of very high quality. We only have to look at the almost black color of the juice as it is pumped over. 

The very low yield is now confirmed without doubt. It will be no better than 25 hl/ha as against 44 hl/ha last year. As one of our Club Palmer guests said, "Too bad, because only a few amateurs will taste it."

http://chateau-palmer.com/fr1

TOP

Nicolas & Christophe de Bailliencourt dit Courcol - Château Gazin - Pomerol

Harvest Chronicle at Château Gazin - Pomerol

The 2002 harvest, which took place, in Gazin, from September 19th up to September 26th , went on very well.

The 2002 yield should be twice as low as the previous vintage, that is to say about 25 hl per hectare. Such little production is due to the « coulure » and « millerandage » phenomena which affect the Merlot variety when the blossoming period coincides with rainy weather conditions. ( As you probably know, Pomerol’s typical grape variety is Merlot. The average Merlot surface of the appellation is 80%). 

Nevertheless the quality of the vintage is good, and could be very good. But this latter evaluation has to be confirmed after the malolactic fermentation.

The Bordeaux winemakers may let out a great sigh of relief…
Few weeks ago, early September, most of the vintners thought that their crop was ruined. Indeed, July and August had been, by and large, very gloomy and wet. These weather conditions followed a rainy period, early June, as the Merlot vines were blossoming, involving the « coulure » phenomenon we mentioned previously. Fortunately, the weather conditions greatly improved when the Cabernets started to blossom, by mid June.

However, a warm and sunny period, in August, allowed to reach a good maturity level of the grapes. (In fact, maturity requires not exclusively sun but luminosity and heat. Therefore a cloudy weather with warmth and brightness can do well. On the other hand it is obvious that too much rain and humidity threatens the crop).

With that respect the rainy weather conditions we had by the end of August were very worrying. The grapes started to go rotten… 

Thanks God the weather deeply improved, early September, and in spite of two heavy storms on September 13th and 14th the temperatures went up again, and the sun shined. Since September 23rd, the weather has turned to coolness with sun. This situation blocked the progress of the rot and helped the sugars to concentrate in the grains. Since then, the weather has been sunny and cool, allowing the vintners to finish the harvest under good conditions. 

http://www.chateau-gazin.com/

Harvest Chronicle at Château Yquem - Sauternes-Barsac
October 1st 2002
We had another very dry month, with only 26 mm of rain in September compared to the normal 72 mm, further worsening the 2002 water deficit. 

As there has not been a drop of rain since the 8th, the botrytis slowed down and finally stopped spreading. The first wave of grapes was picked between the 12th and the 16th and we started a second wave in spite of the dry weather, as the easterly winds and high temperatures (30 °C) had produced a very high sugar content. The botrytized grapes were picked together with a few golden-ripe fruit, producing must that has all the richness of Yquem (20 - 21° potential alcohol). 

The grapes harvested on September 19th, 20th, 26th, 27th, 30th and October 1st gave particularly aromatic, fruity must, due to the non-botrytized fruit.

While we are pleased that the thunder storms which hit vineyards 10 km to the west and 20 km to the east on September 20th missed Yquem, it is a pity the rain also passed us by.

As of today, October 1st, at least ¾ of the harvest is still on the vines, perfectly ripe and golden, just waiting for a passing shower to reactivate the botrytis.

We still have high hopes!

http://www.yquem.fr/

Corinne Reulet - Château la Tour Blanche - Sauternes - Barsac

Harvest Chronicle at La Tour Blanche - Sauternes-Barsac

09/24/02 - Beginning of harvest 2002
The grape harvest has begun at Chateau La Tour Blanche  and is currently progressing under excellent conditions.

One "sanitary sorting" was carried out from September 12 to September 18. This first selection of the grapes ensured not only a general ‘cleaning up’ of the vineyard by eliminating some sources of bad rot but also the picking of the first berries affected by a noble rot of excellent quality.

Since Monday September 23, a second passing has started under a radiant sun which facilitates the phenomenon of the concentration of the grapes.

Such exceptional conditions for the beginning of this picking are auspicious for the continuation of the harvest.

http://www.tour-blanche.com/

Sincerely Alain Bringolf

Harvest 2005 - Harvest 2004 - Harvest 2003 - Harvest 2001

Grapes and Varietals - Regions