The harvest was completed at Stephane Ogier’s estate whose Cote Rotie wines are world renowned including “La Belle Helene” and “Lancement“. Stéphane answered three questions on this 2013 vintage.
“Could you tell us more about this 2013 harvest in Côte Rôtie?”
Stéphane Ogier : “For those who like strong emotions, I think 2013 in Côte Rôtie made it! Even in Condrieu, with 50% less volume compared to last year. It was a crazy harvest. While we had planned to slowly prepare the cellar during the first week of October, our schedule was completely messed up. We said Bye Bye to the full week of preparation, we finally had 24 hours to set us up. And instead of one month as usual, it only took us 8 days to harvest. I think this year will be remembered by everyone at the wine estate.”
“So, you mean it is an atypical year?”
Stéphane Ogier : “This year in Cote Rotie, you needed to be as strong as an All Blacks rugby player with the reactivity of a gazelle. You needed to be delicate, not fill the baskets but keep them light, and to go up and down immediately to get the best of the grapes in the cellar. At the same time, it was a physical sport because we started very early and ended extremely late. Not easy… Reactivity was key in 2013. In the last week of September it was not ready, but then everything accelerated. On the hills of Cote Rotie, we had to harvest immediately on the first week of October because it was ripe. We have been proved right as rain came again in the second week. With the benefit of hindsight, I now realize that I have never harvested so late in my life!”
” What is your conclusion on this 2013 vintage ? ”
Stéphane Ogier : ” The conclusion we should make is that nothing is certain, we have been extremely careful in the vineyard all the time as we wanted to do a great job in 2013. The work done in August and September (thinning, green harvesting…) had a significant influence on the grapes. For reds, volumes are very similar to 2010: it is a big surprise because we expected more when looking at the beautiful grapes. In the end, 2013 shows a very good quality. Degrees are very good (between 12.5 ° and 13.5 ° which I like very much) with low pH and a lot of malic acid. We have to wait for the end of malolactic fermentation to make a better judgment. With this vintage that had very long maturities, we have wonderful aromas in the cellar, it smells like freh fruits. The colors are beautiful but we can’t be certain before the end of malolactic fermentation as the balance will change. By the end of the day, the only thing that is certain at this point is that we will have some more space in the cellar compared to usual… ”
(You can reach the writer at info@vitabella.fr)
