IN THE VINEYARD | Jean-Nicolas Méo, Méo-Camuzet, Burgundy
Jean-Nicolas Méo has been running his family domaine since 1989, overseeing its 14ha of vines, which span such grands crus as Richebourg and Clos Vougeot along with a host of premiers crus across Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne Romanée and Nuit St Georges. He also oversees the family’s negociant business, giving him a perspective across all of Burgundy. He tells us how winemakers are coping with the region’s challenging 2024 harvest…
‘It’s been a difficult vintage – the growing season has been very wet and we’ve had to deal with a lot of downy mildew. At Camuzet-Méo we are organic, though not certified as such, so early on we had to make a big decision as to whether to stay true to that organic approach, or to spray the vineyard [with non-organic treatments] to counter the growth of mildew. That growth was unprecedented – usually you get some early warning signals, as mildew tends to grow on the leaves and then spread to the grapes. But this year it went directly to the grapes, very early on. So we had a loss of crop early in the season, in May, coupled with cold, wet weather, and were in panic mode right from the start.
‘Of course one of the big tests every year is to adapt to the circumstances, and in the end we decided to spray, using products that were not approved as organic. It was a big decision, a difficult decision. But in the end, with the weather not as we wanted, and knowing we had a small crop and that we’d also have to do some sorting, we decided to go ahead.
‘The wet weather has been the talk of the 2024 season. Everyone is complaining, everyone is unhappy. That’s just the way it is though – and at least we have a crop. We had more rainy weather in late summer but finally it turned around and we’ve had two weeks of sunny, warmer weather, with the northern wind blowing, to ensure we have at least a small harvest – which is a relief, compared to how things looked at the start of the month.
‘So now here we are at harvest facing a very low quantity. Everyone’s saying it’s even lower than expected – we expected a yield of 20-25hl/ha, but in places we have only half of that. The quality will be fine, but I fear the yields for the reds will be similarly small to 2021, perhaps even lower.
‘It’s a better crop for the whites – Chardonnay’s cycle is a bit different to Pinot Noir, and Pinot seems more sensitive to downy mildew, whereas Chardonnay is more susceptible to powdery mildew.
‘We started harvesting in the Côte de Beaune last weekend, and in the middle of this week we began in the Côte des Nuits. We’re happy, finally, to see some grapes in our vats.’
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