Vintage 2000

Description of the vintage

The 2000 vintage was exceptionally precocious and warm. The flowering was incredibly early, starting at the end of May to finish early June under perfect condition, allowing a large number of flowers per cluster and vine. The grapes grew quickly, thanks to good humidity and warmth in July/August. September was even warmer and dryer, finishing to ripen the grapes to extremely high level of sugar content and helping the grapes to resist against rot (acid rot was a concern in 2000). The harvest started middle of September and finished end of October. Most vineyards were harvested end of September and early October. Only some VTs and SGNs were left for the end of October. After that, the weather in November was not suitable anymore.

On the Domaine, the crop was consistent at 43hl/ha with big differences between grape varieties and origins. Only the hillside vineyards were harvested in October, but in 2000 maturity was not a problem. The preservation of acidity and aromas was more important, therefore waiting to long to harvest was not always the best option to take. The warmth of September started the noble rot in most vineyards, even at the beginning of the harvest. Surprisingly, the acidity levels were very good, especially for gewürztraminers, and of high quality, with very little malic acid in the grapes.

The 2000 wines are in general powerful, often with high alcohol levels, very flavourful and aromatic. There is not doubt that it is a great vintage. Fermentations were long and vigorous, the wild yeasts being able to transform a lot of the sugars. Most of the wines were bottled in September 2001 and did finish their fermentation between December and March following the harvest.

Again, no wines were chaptalized in 2000 and all the vineyards were cultivated in biodynamie.