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2014 Champagne is Primarily a Question of Climatic Conditions!

Each vintage in the Champagne region is decidedly different, and here lies the richness of our terroir, which is located in a key climatic area influenced by oceanic and continental weather; while this can make the winegrower’s métier one of the most difficult on earth, the climate can also produce ‘minor’ miracles.

What is really noteworthy are the strong, clear, and sharply contrasting climatic conditions that have occurred over recent years, which perhaps attest to one of the most obvious effects of the climatic changes in our region!

The spring of 2012, which was humid and cold—making it extremely difficult to manage vineyards cultivated according to biodynamic principles—, was followed by a splendid hot summer.

The spring of 2013 arrived late and was cold, followed by a record-breaking sunny summer and a glacial autumn.

After a mild and very humid winter, 2014 has proved no exception to these starkly contrasting weather conditions. The spring was dry and sunny, without significant frosts, with slightly warmer temperatures than normal, followed by a cool, rainy summer.
Then, in a third phase: the great miracle of the month of September 2014 commenced. September was continental, dry, and warm … a dream come true! The continental influence began at the end of August: there was a north to north-east wind, bringing cool nights followed by warm, sunny days. This weather pattern was particularly helpful for maturing the grapes, which were bathed in sunshine and light. However, the most noteworthy result was a phenomenon of concentration in the grapes which was reminiscent of the final phase of the 2002 vintage: due to the effects of the sunshine, wind, and temperature variations, the berries lost water content, which evaporated, resulting in a concentration of sugars, acids, and flavours.

 

The 2014 Harvests: a Year of Calcareous Soils … and Biodynamics!

The harvests were approaching in exceptional climatic conditions.

We soon noticed—and this is generally true of years with marked climatic contrasts—a different degree of maturity between the sugar content and the acids and aromas: while the grapes had a good sugar content, there was also high acidity and a vegetal taste. We quickly decided to aim for optimal maturity on all the grape varieties in order to attenuate the acidity and enable the flavours to develop. The cool and rainy summer deprived the grapes of their flavour; so September would have to be the month for developing maturity, and time was required to achieve this!

We waited patiently and for as long as possible, and all our teams were standing by on 5th September to set the harvest dates. The vines were quite magnificent and in excellent health with all the sunshine.

We decided to start the harvest at Cumières on 11th September, followed by Aÿ on 13th September. The harvest at Avize started on 12th September and at Verzenay on 13th September. They both ended on 21th September, which was yet again a beautiful sunny day.

One of the keys to the year’s success lay in changing our harvest process and finishing each sector with vines on calcareous soil and vines cultivated according to biodynamic principles. Indeed, the calcareous soils improved the drainage of the summer rains and slowed the vines’ growth, producing a fine, balanced maturity and impeccable sanitary conditions. And the biodynamics process, which involves a specific cultivation of the vineyard, produced a balance that was even more favourable to optimal maturity—and the result has been quite exceptional!

At the time of writing it is far too early to be able to assess the true quality of this 2014 vintage, but I can safely say that it will be one of the good Champagne years.

All that remains is to vinify all the juices by adapting—as we do every year—our ‘à la carte’ practices! As with the vines, the observation of the wine will enable us to work optimally to sublimate this wonderful gift from Nature.

Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon – Louis Roederer’s Executive Vice President and Cellar Master