The signs are that Europe's 2005 vintage will be a memorable one, writes Joe Breen
Many of Europe's winegrowers are smiling. The reason for their joy is the widespread good vintage produced last year, which although reduced in volume by the continuing drought, particularly in Spain and Portugal, and although offset by continuing worries in Languedoc, seems set to deliver the finest wines since the celebrated 2000 vintage.
It is perhaps tempting fate to signal a fine vintage in advance of the casks being opened and the experts delivering their en primeur verdicts, in early April. Even then it is best to be cautious, as the rush to acclaim can be followed by a long period of regret, as with the 1997 vintage in Bordeaux.
But French winemakers from Burgundy to the Rhône are reporting very fine wines, and, crucially, their verdict, not always the most reliable or objective, is being backed up by observers and experts such as Jancis Robinson, who recently wrote that "the most famous and most active international winemaking consultant, Michel Rolland of Pomerol, is reported as saying that he has never in his 35 years of making wine in Bordeaux seen such a combination of perfectly ripe and perfectly healthy grapes. The Bordeaux merchants are of course thrilled by what they gleefully see as compensation for sluggish demand for the large crop in 2004, which may yet turn out to be one of Bordeaux's rare bargain vintages".
There is, of course, a downside. The French don't believe in modesty, so expect steep rises in the prices of top-notch Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône wines. The signals are already there. At the 145th Hospices de Beaune wine auction, last autumn - the first handled by Christie's - the average price was up 11 per cent on last year. And the Burgundians are fair-minded compared with their Bordeaux brethren.
Chanson, the leading Burgundy merchant, said: "We are confident that this will be one of the best vintages of the century. It has to be said that every condition was met for an outstanding vintage: strict yield control, ideal weather conditions, grapes picked at optimum ripeness. The first results are absolutely outstanding: the white wines retain their exotic fruit scents of fermentation, they show perfect balance and great length; the red wines are as black as ink and show intense aromas of ripe red fruit overlaid with notes of chocolate and a coating of spicy tannins."
In the Rhône they are still thrilled by the 2004 vintage, but, again, preliminary reports suggest that winemakers there believe 2005 will be even better. Christophe Cardona, export manager with the leading southern vineyard Cave de Rasteau, said the "harvest started mid-September as usual with an amazing quality of grapes with a perfect soundness. The yield is very low with at least 15-20 per cent off. One word to qualify the vintage: full. Fully coloured, full and soft tannin, intense fruit. The quality is definitely there".
Not all French winegrowers are happy, however: the crisis in Languedoc will persist whatever the vintage. Although the region makes some very fine wines, it still produces a lot of hard-to-sell dross. The result is a huge surplus, huge pressure on prices and much anger. Jean Huillet of the winemakers' union in Hérault said: "We continue to uproot [ vines], we send millions of hectolitres to be distilled, while the Bordelais stuff themselves and twirl their moustaches."
Elsewhere in Europe the news appears to be as good, although key areas of Italy, according to Robinson, had rain at the wrong time, during or just before harvest. "Piedmont, in the north, suffered rain just before the growers' precious Nebbiolo was due to be picked, so 2005 is unlikely to be a stellar vintage for Barolo, and rain also affected the Tuscan harvest."
In Spain and Portugal it was the absence of rain that caused the most pain. Drought reduced the harvest by 25 per cent, although the general state of the grapes was very good. In the south this was bad news, although there were reports of "stunning" wines created in more northern areas, such as Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The same was true of Portugal, with reports of low yields, high concentration and some superb wines, particularly in the Douro.
In Germany, Ulrike Bahm of the German Wine Institute reported that a great vintage had delivered very fruit-driven wines with a good and round acidity: "Fun to drink and good to store." As with many other countries, the yield was down (10 per cent year on year), but the quality was higher than in previous years. "This year is unique: seldom has there been such unanimous praise from all 13 wine-growing regions about the quality of the grape crop," said Armin Göring of the German Wine Institute, in Mainz.
Göring attributes this outcome to an extraordinarily sunny year: the number of sun hours recorded from March to October exceeded the long-term average for an entire year. This enabled the grapes to ripen about two weeks ahead of schedule.
We shall see. As ever with wine, time will be the real judge.
jbreen@irish-times.ie