2002

Anne’s Comments

The vintage 2002 started well, pruning finished on time, Spring rains didn’t interfere with ploughing. The bud break was quite early and we were a little afraid of the frost risks. Hopefully April and May went off without a hitch.

Flowering began the 10th of June and last until the 20th because of a disturbed weather. We expected some millerandage and we finally had all sort of grapes, small ones, small berries, bigger grapes and larger berries.

We pruned some plots in royat style to limit the yields and we didn’t have problem with fungus deseases so the grapes were perfectly healthy at end of August.

Then rains of beginning September stopped the crop’s ripeness and hopefully a northeast wind (La Bise) drought the grapes to avoid rot outbreaks. It also concentrated the sugar and acid, miraculous for us.

We started to pick the 20th of September with red wines and finished the 1st of October with white wines.

The thick skins of red grapes and low juice yields gave us beautiful tannins and clear colour. We didn’t have to push the extraction. Thanks to the wind white wines were pure, ample, straight through their freshness, fruity with a great potential of pleasure…

journalists’ Comments

Chambolle Musigny

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Village Appellation Contrôlée. Medium weight. Ripe. Forward. Charming and clean as a whistle. Very well balanced. Very good. From 2007.

Richebourg

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Good colour. This is very subtle and very fine indeed. Lovely understated nose and palate. Pullish bodied, rich, intense and very finely balanced. Good tannin. Very long. Very lovely. From 2012.

The vine – Clive Coates – juin 2004 : Medium-full colour. Bottled two months previously. Lovely soft red fruit nose. Medium to fullish body on the palate. Very good grip. The tannins are soft and ripe. This is potentially very lush and succulent. But by no means a blockbuster. Very seductive. Very fine. 2011-2025. 18.5

Clive Coates  Février 2012 : fullish colour. Rich concentrated, still backward nose. Great energy and depth here. Very fine tanins and very fine grip. This still needs five years. but it is really excellent. Marvelous follow through.

Clos Vougeot

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Lovely nose with a slightly earthy background – the warm brick of a good Graves. Medium-full body. Ripe and rich. Slight caramel spicy touches. Some nuts. Very good grip. Ample. Abundant. Fine plus. From 2010.

Clive Coates  Février 2012 : medium-full colour. Some touches of maturity now. Smooth, ripe, subtle, harmonious nose. Medium-full body. Ripe and fresh. Just about ready. Very well-balanced. Stylish fruit. Very good vigour. Lots of depth and class. Very fine.

Vosne-Romanée

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Fine colour. Late malos here. A bit closed. Medium to medium-full body. Very classy fruit. Ripe, balanced and very long. Fine for what it is. From 2008.

Hautes Côtes de Nuits Rouge

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Third year of harvest. Slightly raw on the nose. Medium body. Fresh, ripe, juicy and attractive. Very well balanced. Very good. From 2007.

Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Fourth year of harvest. Ripe. Plenty of succulence. No undue oak. A gentle, stylish wine. Forward. Very good for what it is. From 2005.

Bourgogne Blanc

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Quite different from the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. fatter and spicier. More ample but a little less refined. Very good though.

Bourgogne Rouge

The vine – Clive Coates – janvier 2004 : Good substance. It seems fatter and more tannic than the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. Older vines. Rich. Good integrated tannins. Ripe fruit. Balanced and very stylish. A lovely example of a generic. From 2007.

VINTAGES