We hear a lot about terroir these days. In my humble view, the vineyard site produces terroir, which is the unique quality of that specific place. Terroir shows itself in wine, certainly in Pinot Noir, but you can over-ride it.

You can create wines from one place that seem like they are from any place.
Usually in warm vintages, very ripe grapes are the biggest culprit. For example, the 2003 Burgundies all taste very much the same.

To capture terroir, that has to be your goal. Often, at 26 degrees Brix and above, you will lose it. By cranking up the sugars and ripeness, you can negate the effects both of vintage and terroir.

Yes, I think soil is the major contributor to terroir (although terrain and climate play large roles as well), but I don’t think anyone knows exactly what the soil provides.

Are northern Burgundies mineral laden? Yes. But is it because of the limestone or the high acid and low pH? Do earthy, mushroom characters come from the soil? Certainly different characters come from different soils, but we don’t really know why.

Some say heavier clay soils make bigger Pinots. Others argue that lighter soils make bigger Pinots because they create less canopy, exposing fruit to sunlight.. Most winemakers would agree that soil is very important. But often when we see a vineyard before tasting wines made from it, we are surprised by those wines.

Other times you have just a sense, a memory triggered. You can’t define it, but you know it. Even when I’m right, I’m not sure why. I do taste more black fruit and structure from the clay soils of Nuit St. Georges, and red fruit, mineral and austerity in wines from limestone vineyards. But why remains a mystery.

While great Burgundies may come from the middle of the hillside, producers like Claude Dugat treats all his vineyards like grand cru sites. And he makes stunning village wines. I think he demonstrates that with excellent vineyard management, you can move sites up a quality notch, say from a B- to an A-.
But probably no more than that.

You could look at terroir as potential, and at vineyard management as the ability to extract what nature gives you. How many absolutes are there in life, anyway? Pi?

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