2020

Earlier and earlier !

The years go by and they all look the same. Precocity and summer heat are phenomena that we have observed for 4 years.

Until July 20 the vines were very beautiful and did not suffer from any water stress. At the beginning of August, the heat and then the heatwave set in. The vines must have drawn on their reserves, but the precocity of the vintage did not hurt it too much.

We started the harvest on August 26th. This is the second time since I have practiced this profession that I have harvested in August (the first was in 2003).

Despite this precocity, we can see lower levels than the last vintages and a little more acidity. The plant gradually gets used to these scorching conditions. The campaign took place over approximately 3 weeks under exceptional sanitary conditions. We finished on September 14th.

The red wines are remarkably intense, the tannins are supple. The juices are very dense but retain a nice freshness.

For the whites, the fermentations took place normally. The malolactic fermentation ended at the end of the year, which is quite rare for us. The wines are of great finesse without any feeling of heaviness.

2019

all things come in threes!

For the third year in a row, drought and heat have driven this vintage. The late and cold spring caused a delay of about 10 days compared to a normal year. We came close to the disaster with a very cold week or night temperatures went down close to 0°C. In some areas, flowering has been disrupted causing run-off, reducing the amount of grapes.

With the beginning of summer, heat and then a heatwave settled. The delay of the beginning of season quickly filled up. The vineyard has suffered, it had to tap into its reserves until early August or we were fortunate to have two savvy rainy episodes. Then the heat settled again until the harvest and we harvested as in 2018 and 2017 under very summer conditions.

We started the harvest on September 12th.

We note, since these solar vintages, that the order of collection of parcels is no longer respected. Previously, we started with whites, then the second week the early reds and finally the third week was devoted to the later reds. But in recent years there is no longer any logic. We harvest white, then red, again white, some plateaux before the slopes. All this forces us to rethink our way of harvesting and asks us more and more staff to be very responsive.

The red wines are of remarkable intensity, the tannins are supple. Despite high degrees the juices are of a great freshness. The balances seem even better than 2018.

For the whites, at the beginning of November, fermentations are ending slowly and more quickly than last year. The lower sugar level favors fermentation and gives the wines a nice balance.

2018

A DRY AND EARLY vintage!

It is often said that the month of September strongly contributes to the quality of a vintage. In 2018 it is the month of March which have been primordial. After a nice winter, we had a very rainy spring with 165mm of rain in March, which is 1/3 of the annual rainfall. This has allowed the vines to make the provision of water to withstand the drought of summer. The plant developed quite early and we kept this early until the harvest.

We started the harvest on September 4th.

As in 2016, this vintage has spoiled us: quality and quantity are at the rendezvous. But the comparison stops there, because the 2 vintages are very different. 2016 is a late vintage while 2018 is very early, hot and dry.

As for the reds, the sanitary state was perfect. We harvested our last plots on September 22nd. This is the second time since the domain exists that we are ending so quickly.

The wines are of remarkable intensity, the tannins are supple, we are heading towards a great vintage.

For the whites, the sugar levels were quite high and the acidities quite low. This is due to the scorching weather conditions of the summer and lack of water. Fortunately, the nature has been quite generous concerning the quantities allowing to keep a certain freshness and to avoid phenomena of over concentration.

2017

A dry, early vintage!

Everyone knows the famous quote from Shakespeare: “To be or not to be; that is the question?” In 2017, we could have said: “Harvest or wait to harvest; that is the question.”

Summer heat and a lack of water significantly accelerated the grapes’ maturity for potential alcohol, leading to complex situations at times. When tasting the grapes, feelings were mixed. It was easy to measure the potential of sugar, but phenolic maturity was lacking.

As soon as winter finished, a warm springtime period settled and this led to the earliness of the vintage, which did ease off a little after flowering. Nevertheless, at the start of summer we had a good ten days head start compared to a normal year (although “normal years” have practically disappeared).

We started our harvests on 4th September.

We began with a new plot of Viognier planted in Seyssuel three years ago. It was a small harvest but ripeness was excellent. Then we carried on by gathering grapes from the first plots of Condrieu. Despite the intense heat of the month of August, degrees of alcohol are high, but the balance seems very good.

As for the reds, situations vary a great deal. Some plots suffered because of the drought and sometimes due to the spell of frost at the end of April, whereas others were not affected at all (especially the sector of Côte-Rôtie and Seyssuel). The grapes were perfectly healthy. We finished harvesting our last plots on 27th September. This was the first time since our estate has existed that we finished harvesting so quickly.

The vintage promises to be delicious and fruity; the tannins are supple. Unfortunately, quantities are low for the whites and reds, approximately 30% less.

2016

A late vintage

We did not have a harsh winter until the month of March when a cold spell slowed down the arrival of spring. This delay was accentuated right up until the beginning of summer with July being cool and rainy. The vines were about 3 weeks late and there was keen pressure of various diseases: mildew and oidium. On the other hand, flowering went smoothly and quantities were already considerable. As is often the case, August and September were hot, very hot and dry months, enabling the grapes to ripen well. We began the harvests on 26th September. For white and red, quantities are satisfactory. Despite the intense heat of the month of August, degrees of alcohol are distinctly lower than in 2015. We did some green harvesting at the end of July in plots of vines for reds, which allowed the grapes to reach a stage of excellent ripeness. We finished harvesting our last plots on 12th October with our grapes being extraordinarily healthy. The vintage promises to be fresh, without the slightest heaviness and tannins are supple.

2015

A magnificent vintage

2015 is already hailed as a great, even a magnificent vintage. Unlike the two previous vintages, it is the earliness and excellent health of the vines that we will remember about this year. It was indeed the first time since the estate has existed that the grape harvests were finished in September. (For information, in 2013 we began the harvests on 3rd October).

Winter was not too harsh, but quite long and rainy. Plenty of water was stored up. Springtime was very sunny and hot, which really sped up the vine’s growth. Early flowering went well and the heat accentuated the head start we had.

July began by a first surge of heat and a few weeks of heatwave. Despite high temperatures, the vines did not suffer too badly, but went into a state of dormancy. The month of August continued in the same way. We all remembered the 2003 vintage that was extremely early, with harvests that began mid-August. Thankfully, some rain showers, especially on the Côte-Rôtie, enabled us to get to September to start the harvest.

2015 is a vintage that splits winegrowers into two categories: those who, seeing the potential degrees of alcohol rising and levels of acidity plummeting, decided to harvest very early, even though the skins and pips seemed hard, and phenolic ripeness was not fully reached. And those whose waited, taking the risk of having high degrees of alcohol.

We made the decision to harvest without taking into account the usual order of events which consists of starting by the whites and then continuing with the reds. We began with a plot of young vines for reds on 4th September and then on 7th September, we pursued with Condrieu grapes. We harvested again on 15th September, a plot of Côte-Rôtie; afterwards we gathered white grapes again and we finished our harvests with our Saint-Joseph reds on 24th September. The rainy spell we had at the weekend of 20th September did not spoil the grapes’ good healthiness.

 Quantities are quite small for the whites because the skins were very thick and yields of juice very low. For the red, quantities are quite good. The juices are very concentrated and aromas of black and red fruit are very perceptible in the vat house. The colour is vivid and the tannins are already supple. Although total acidity is not very high, the balance of the wines seems very promising.

2013

A real winegrower’s vintage

2013 is truly a winegrower’s vintage. It was the first time since we established our estate that we had such complicated conditions.

After a cool, wet spring, it rained often and the weather was cold in June. This caused a lot of flower abortion at the time of flowering and above all it led to considerable lateness in the vine’s growth cycle. These difficult conditions meant we had very few grapes appearing on the vines.

July began with a first surge of heat that continued into the month of August. This hot, dry summer allowed our hopes to rise again and catch up some of the lost time that had built up. Veraison occurred on around 15th August, indicating harvests at the beginning of October.

Fortunately the sunny month of September enabled us to reach October with the vines in good health. We started the harvests on 3rd October in the Crozes-Hermitage plot and then the next day we gathered the grapes in the plots of Condrieu. We had just one day of rain during the whole of the harvests and we finished calmly on 18th October with a magnificent sunny day.

All the plots of white grapes were harvested between 4th and 13th October; the fruit was very healthy but quantities were low (approximately 20% less compared with 2012). The wines are quite aromatic, but the malolactic fermentation has not yet begun (25th January 2014), so it is still a bit too early to give an opinion. However, we note some superb balance in the wines.

For reds, the harvests were gathered between 3rd and 18th October. Lower quantities (30% less for our Saint-Joseph) allowed us to have marvellous concentration and excellent ripeness. When tasting them, the wines are very concentrated; the balance between powerful aromas and tight tannins lets us foresee a great vintage.

2012

a record vintage

2012 is a record vintage. Indeed, here in Chavanay, we registered 0 mm of rain in February – unheard of since 1949 – and 259 mm in July – the highest level in more than 50 years. The vineyard had to adapt to these abrupt changes in climate and to the couple of hail storms endured by our Saint-Joseph parcels during the week of the 14th of July.

Fortunately, the month of August and September were once again magnificent, thereby allowing the grapes to fully ripen. The various grape varieties were picked from the 20th of September through to the 20th of October. They all shared good phenolic maturity and an alcohol content often below 13°.

The white wines are extremely aromatic and the reds are very digest and flavorsome. As they are very fruity, they had to be gently matured to preserve this immediate pleasure.

2011

a fairly generous vintage

2011 is a fairly generous vintage. Indeed, nature decided to make up for the small volume produced in 2010 by a bumper crop. The year’s early springtime indicated that the harvest would kick off at the beginning of September, or even at the end of August in some sectors. But a gloomy and wet summer ended up confounding this forecast.

Luckily, the hot and sunny finish to the season offered a good harvest. Depending upon the parcels, these abrupt changes in climate resulted in the uneven ripening of the parcels. It was therefore necessary to take one’s time and to harvest the fruit little by little. The picking of the estate’s whites began at the end of September.

When it comes to the reds, the time period was longer, as the first grapes arrived in the cellar on the 22nd of September and the last ones were picked on the 22nd of October.

When tasted, the Syrah wines were already expressing plenty of fruit and crunchiness, indicating that they will be more rapidly accessible than the 2009 and 2010 vintages. When it comes to the white wines, they are fruity and digest with an alcohol content often less than usual for the region.

2010

a well-balanced vintage

2010 is a well-balanced vintage, that is highly representative of the wines from the northern part of the Rhone Valley. The year’s growing cycle started off well, thereby preserving the vineyard from both mildew and oidium. Unfortunately, the flowering period was situated between the 15th and the 20th of June, at the same time as cool and rainy weather conditions, recalling the month of October. This situation led to a decrease in fertility, thereby reducing the yield of some parcels by about 30%. Thankfully, the summer was sunny and dry. This season was followed by a splendid September and October, thereby allowing us to harvest magnificent top quality grapes around the 10th of October.

When it comes to the white wines, they are fruity and digest, often with a less than usual alcohol content for the region.

2009

a hot and sunny vintage

2009 was a hot and sunny vintage. Its growing cycle evolved with ease, thereby preserving the vineyard from both mildew and oidium. After a hot and dry summer, winegrowers highly appreciated the moderate rainfall that fell at the end of August. Afterwards, a splendid month of September helped to produce a healthy and abundant harvest, boasting excellent maturity.