It is hot here, it's six PM and the sun is blazing out of a clear blue sky; has done since dawn and all week. And the forecast is for days more of same. I say this not to make anyone in Britain jealous but because there's a lot of writing-off of this Bordeaux vintage going on.
Brothers and sisters of the wine-writing profession: do us a favour. You may well be p'ed off that the handful of Great Chateaux (the ones whose names people can remember) pushed their prices so high last year as to be a bit insulting. You may well wish to clobber some big egos around here. Fine.
But don't forget that most (overwhelmingly most) of us Bordeaux chateaux (those with names few remember) do not jack up our prices whenever we feel like it. We have wine to sell every year and if some of our lot don't sell they'll go bust.
Please don't make it hard for them.
This is not a 'write-off' vintage. The grapes are bloody ripe. They've been on the vine a week longer than usual. They are not swollen by rain. It doesn't work like that. Rain can advance ripening. They are not rotten. Because we have the 'atomiseur' kit these days to prevent that. True, we have to sort grapes carefully, but we have the kit for that, too. And we are prepared to stand for hours removing unripe berries. What goes in the tanks is all good. This is a vintage for the best farmer-winemakers to be able to show their skill.
We will slave and we will make lovely wines.
Love from sunny Bordeaux.
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