Jonathan Loesberg
Jonathan Loesberg
I only know CdP in enough detail to answer and not enough detail to answer well. The problems of current climate are recent enough to be in the memory of any winemaker over about the age of 40 (35, if like some, they started when they were 15 or 16). They've watched it happen and have been trying to deal with it. I expect they are using blending and vineyard techniques to do the best they can with the conditions, but my winemaking knowledge is insufficient to get to that. I do know that they consider years like 07 not by any means bad years but years that present their own kinds of challenges (Bravay and Charvin, who are quite happy with their 08s wouldn't argue with the description of that year as more difficult to deal with). But their benchmark is something like, still, what they think their terroir should give them as based on something like an historical experience.
If I knew enough about winemaking, I expect that I could detail both cellar and vineyard practices whose intention was clearly to handle-so to speak-what the years were giving them so that it could give what the winemaker thought his vineyards should give. From even a pretty relaxed metaphysics, I expect that it would be hard to distinguish between these practices (remember I say this from a near total position of ignorance)and Cambie's, which have been described to me as sometimes no more than choosing the ripest stuff he can to put in wines for which he consults in terms of naturalness and non-naturalness. Thus Parker can insist that Ferrando makes absolutely natural, non-interventionist wines. But anybody can taste the candied quality of those wines.