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!
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