2008 – Bordeaux's Golden Vintage!

… I just thought I'd coin that phrase before anyone else does! It highlights the fact that 2008 is the latest Bordeaux vintage ever, and for the first time anyone can remember, black grapes were to be seen hanging beneath vine leaves which had turned to gold. Looked stunning.


This phenomenon indicates several things;
1) The weather is crazy. But you probably knew that.
2) Growers here are far more courageous than they ever were, in risking their harvest out there on the vines so very late in the year.
3) Growers have mastered the art – and science – of keeping fruit healthy through the wettest of summers and on until almost November.

A HUGE change. We still have our later-ripening Cabernets to harvest and they will be done on Wednesday, probably after everything else.

The sound of gunfire has now replaced the drone of harvesting machines and so tells me most people have finished already and are on to the next country activity; La Chasse. Walking in the vines has become dangerous. On yesterday's Sunday saunter, a fearful, disembodied red face suddenly appeared before us on our walk; the camouflage clothes and hides are really effective these days and chasseurs do not like walkers. I cannot see what they are shooting at but presumably its the poor palombes who every year must elude the guns if they hope to see their winter quarters in Africa!

We don't shoot. We pass our days plunging and pumping-over. As you shove your plunger or direct your jet of wine through the floating 'cap' of black grapeskins, lovely aromas gush out to overwhelm you. At first it’s buckets of fresh fruit, then it turns to something like strawberry jam as the fermentation kicks in, then this in turn changes to heady aromas of spirity, young wine within just a few days.

I have always found this the most satisfying of jobs; better than shooting and much less strenous than harvesting – and quieter. The harvester's chatter is gone, and so is their thumping boom-box. Its just the quiet of the cellar now, with only the gentle clock-clock of the Manzini on low speed and the gurgle of happy tanks. Wine is being born. Good wine. Very good. Deeply satisfying.

The weather holds good too. Some days are better than anything we saw all summer. Don't want to go home to the UK, but it’s our busy sales time there now. And first there's the little matter of our English vineyard harvest. Now that's going to be really interesting! Do we have ripe grapes or not?

Encouraging news from Bordeaux

The news, here at least, is good! We've had a week of sunshine and warmth. Better than anything in August. So the grapes have continued to ripen. Those who did not thin their crop will have got some benefit but those of us who did the hard groundwork, are harvesting 14 even 15 degree Merlot. It's likely the Cabernet will not be this ripe so we will have a nice average; 13 to 13.5. Amazing result really, when you consider how bleak everything looked at the end of August!


All the time I was crop-thinning those unripe green grapes in August, I was thinking "you're wasting your time; no way is this going to ripen in time". Now some people are saying they are going to make superb wine this year. But that's only the best producers. There'll be a lot of weak stuff around too. A good vintage though, if you buy with care!

But the ripening is coming to an end. In the last 2 days the whole country has turned yellow and red! The trees and the vines, both. Only a few of the better-tended vineyards are still green. It’s the first time I've ever seen ripe black grapes hanging under yellow vines. Black and yellow is a new look. People never used to leave grapes on the vine anywhere like this long. But the keen producers are responding to the customer demand for extra-ripe tasting claret.


I don't have any info on other regions. That's the thing with harvesting, everything focusses on just what's in front of you. And you're going from before dawn (fetch harvesters bread and croissants), picking till noon, stop for 'la soupe', then sorting in the cellar, and cleaning up till supper time, then collapse in bed. No time for the outside world – which, the new arrivals here tell me, is a blessing indeed!

It’s all rather tense in Bordeaux right now …

It’s been so, so, so busy. That's my excuse for lack of diary output. Our new CEO is somewhat dynamic and has the whole Company rushing around as never before. Even including yours truly! One day I must catch you up with all the myriad things we are doing. But there's no time to write.

Anyway it’s a relief to get out here to Bordeaux for what is probably the latest-ripening vintage in memory. It’s been such a cold year. Unlike last year, the vines budded late and the cold, wet weather kept everything behind schedule all summer. And though the September weather has miraculously saved the day, it’s not been hot enough for ripening to catch up.

This makes it all rather tense here now. A few more days of sun like today and many of us believe we'll make lovely red wines. If the rain comes back hard, well, we won't make poor wine, just not top-notch.

One thing for sure; there won't be a lot of wine.

The whites are mostly in now and we have for example only about half the Sauvignon we need. But it’s lovely stuff. By and large it’s the same story elsewhere. Burgundy had the same miraculous September escape and are pretty pleased and relieved – as their harvest is about all gathered-in now.

Results here will be mixed. This is very much a 'Millesime de Vigneron' – a vintage where success – or failure – is down to each grower's skills and energy. Not luck. A year like this, if you don't do anything you'll now be harvesting acidic grapes at 9%. But those who really look after their vines, thin down their crop to only what can fully ripen, then sort out only the best grapes at the cellar, they'll be getting 13-14% nice, dark mellow juice. It'll have big 'fruit intensity' because the one advantage of cold summers is the grapes never get overcooked.

So here we are. Waiting. I have a couple of days to slow up, calm down, and catch up on the old diary, before we crash into harvest. Busy, busy it will still be, but a different kind of busy.


From our little hill I can see pickers and picking-machines out in the vineyards. And the machines, I can hear. A constant motor drone that will hardly stop – even at night – for another two weeks. Across the yard I can hear Henry and Tom banging and shouting, washing down the vats in Le Presbytere. They are wood vats. Need a lot of cleaning and wetting so the wood expands back to being watertight. They stay empty and dry all year. Two vats are a bit inaccessible and the boys aren't as slim as they were. Hence the yells I guess.

A sleek helicopter just circled low. Probably Christian Moueix checking out who's harvesting too soon! We won't start until Friday I think. Bit of a risk – the Meteo is unstable – but we want ripe flavours as well as ripe sugar-levels.

At the weekend we had a large crew out from Laithwaites. Something we do a few times each year. Visiting the village where it all began, Chateaux, La Clariere, the Chai au Quai and chilling out. BBQ here, before getting back to work. They took lots of pictures. Here's a selection; this is what we look like; 'Laithwaites at Work and Play'.

Come and join us, two customers did, Saturday, nice to have them join in. Anyway, the weather's better here. And here, at this time of year, come what may in the big world outside, nobody talks about anything but grapes!