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Were wine critics too quick to dismiss the aging of the scorching 2003 harvest in Champagne? Dom Prignon reopens the debate with a late release of the vintage this month.
Vintage 2003-Plnitude 2: Available at UK retailers from July 1 for 335
For those who follow their Champagne vintages closely, it is well known that 2003 was an anomaly in the region for two main reasons, both related to the weather.
A year of climatic extremes, 2003 began with a severe spring frost that particularly damaged the early Chardonnay vines, before the region and the rest of Europe experienced an exceptionally hot and dry summer.
These two factors combined led to exceptionally low yields in 2003 for the entire appellation: 8,256 kg of grapes per hectare, ie nearly 50% less than the average of 12,000 kg / ha for this decade.
The small harvest and the hot summer also made the vintage remarkable for its early harvest start date, with the picking starting on August 25, 2003, the earliest since 1822.
Finally, the vintage became famous for producing wines with a very ripe, almost exotic aromatic profile by Champagne standards, as well as a relatively low level of acidity, which has led critics to believe that the wines of this harvest do not. would not be suitable for vintage releases. that is to say Champagnes intended for a long aging.
Indeed, Jancis Robinson MW, writing in March 2006 on his website on vintage champagnes to buy and drink, said the scorching summer of 2003 was too hot to produce vintage-quality champagne.
One of the first releases of single-harvest champagnes from this anomalous vintage was 2003 by Bollinger, which on June 1, 2007, she noted, looked more like frothy pop than champagne, when it was released. review of the sparkling versions of the Financial Times.
However, as previously reported by db, the vintage image has been revised over the past decade due to the 2003 releases from big houses such as Dom Prignon and Krug.
Dom Prignon cellar master Richard Geoffroy described 2003 as a ripe and controversial vintage, in 2012, but said an earlier pick made the vintage, adding: It is closest to a still wine. in the history of Dom Prignon. People said it wouldn’t last, but the opposite is true; its aging slower than the others.
While Olivier Krug, releasing the house’s 2003 in early 2014, said it was by far the scariest vintage in my 25 years of working for Krug, but, expressing his belief in the ability Champagne aging of such a ripe (and therefore a low acid year) said it would continue comfortably for a hundred years.
Likewise, defending the reputation of this hot and cold year, the Roederer cellar master, Jean-Baptiste Lcaillon, explained to the beverage trade in 2012 that the house had developed styles blanc de blancs, ros and brut vintages from 2003. .
We liked the richness and smoothness of the wines, he said, adding: You have many examples in Champagne of low acid vintages that have aged very well: 1947, 1959, 1976.
Then, in 2016, Bruno Paillard described 2003 as a great vintage in Champagne which ranks alongside 2002 when his NPU 2003 was launched from his eponymous house.
If you work very carefully you can create great things in 2003; The year 2003 was criticized by some houses that did not handle the vintage well, but great things are possible in 2003, he says.
By 2021, the debate around vintage and expensive champagnes from the controversial heat wave of the 2003 harvest has once again been reopened, with the launch of the late 2003 Dom Prignons expression, called P2.
Speaking from Champagne earlier this month, Dom Prignon cellar master Vincent Chaperon recalled the specifics of the 2003 vintage, commenting that there were up to three weeks in August when temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, with little change in level overnight, while noting that the very aggressive frost had destroyed 70% of the Chardonnay harvest potential in the Côtes des Blancs.
He said: The low amount of grapes due to the frost and super hot climate meant we had super ripe, super concentrated wines, and when we declared the vintage we were criticized.
Noting that the debate on the quality and the aging potential of the 2003 vintage has been raging since the first release by Dom Pérignon of a vintage expression ten years ago, he said he was happy to come back to this debate. , with an expression of 2003 which has experienced an additional 10 years of maturation in the cellars of the producers.
However, he also said the debate would not end with the 2003 P2.
We don’t put a point on it [the debate], because the wine is still changing, he said, suggesting that there will be another version of Dom Prignon 2003 in another decade, presumably like its even older expression, called P3.
As for the P2 that was shown to the UK press earlier this month, he said it was so creamy, so intense; it is a physical wine, it is vertical, massive, with seriousness.
Looking back he said it was a year when Dom Prignon had to react quickly to produce a wine good enough to be released the producer only makes vintage champagne.
This meant a quick and early harvest, after tasting the grapes on August 15 and realizing that the bunches would need a harvest in five days when no one was in Champagne like they were on summer vacation.
Also, due to the concentrated nature of the berries in this scorching low yielding vintage, Chaperon said there were too many phenols and tannins, so we let the juices oxidize in the press to get rid of the juice. ‘part of the tannins, whereas normally we would protect the juices.
Finally, Dom Prignon took the risk of putting 62% Pinot Noir in the blend, which is the maximum difference between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that we have ever had, he recorded.
The resulting Champagne, he says, has pushed the boundaries of the Dom Prignon universe.
But what was the impact of aging for an additional 10 years for the 2003 Dom Prignon compared to the first vintage released in early 2012?
Chaperon said, P2 is more Dom Prignon, so if Dom Prigon is harmony, then there is more harmony in P2 2003, and the same goes for intensity and complexity.
Continuing, he commented, The second difference is that the freshness obviously vibrates at a higher level in P2, as the lees protect the wine from oxidation.
Providing a third element, he added, the P2 has additional texture, it has more smoothness, it is a greater expression in the mouth; it’s a wine that unfolds, wider, deeper, longer, and if I had to describe it in one word, P2 [2003] is simply more.
From my point of view, the P2 2003 proves that it is possible to produce a rich, ripe, balanced, delicious and long-aging Champagne from a hot and not very productive year, but at a price the beautiful outputs of this years all required careful selection. berries to produce small quantities of large, but expensive champagnes. For example, the late release Dom Prignon will sell for over 300 when it goes on sale next month.
I had already arrived at this conclusion in 2019, when Champagne Palmer released a magnificent vintage of toasted expression, lively from the 2003 harvest, with more than 15 years on lees, at a price of 300.
Called Grands Terroirs, it was named to reflect the quality of the vineyards that yielded exceptional grapes in this difficult vintage, and was released in magnums only, a format that tends to slow down the Champagne aging process due to the potential. reduced oxygen input compared to the amount of wine contained in the bottle.
As for my other thoughts on the Dom Prignon late release 2003, my tasting note can be seen below.
Vintage 2003-Plnitude 2
The blend: Pinot Noir 62%, Chardonnay 38% The dosage: 5g / l The disgorging date: September 2019 The release date: Available in British retailers from July 1st The recommended retail price: 335 The taste: A Champagne overflowing with indulgence, rich and aged aromas, toasted nuts with honey, dried apricots with citrus zest and freshly ground coffee. On the palate, it is a fascinating wine of contrasts, with on the one hand roundness and smoothness, with flavors of apricot and white peach, honey and hazelnut, and on the other, a linear touch, with notes of bitter sweet orange, chalk, toast, and a touch of dry, fine and tannic grip a complementary set of characters so surprising after such a concentrated and sweet core. In essence, this is one of the most delicious champagnes I have had the chance to drink; it is an exciting and indulgent form of exotic, potent and complete refreshment.
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