As the first snip of secateurs sounds the start of this year's
harvest at some of our partners such as
Domaine Allegria or
Domaine la Cabotte, we thought we'd take a look back
to the work carried out in the vineyard to prepare the vines for
this promising new vintage.
All of our partner winemakers are agreed. Mother nature has been
kind to the vines this year, or at least so far... Of course
nothing is ever certain, and we must hope that the good weather
continues, until the grapes are safely in the fermentation tanks,
but for the moment, 2015 looks set for being a good year.
A cold but dry winter
Most of the wine-growing regions benefited from a relatively cold
winter from January onwards, but without excessive rainfall.
Domaine Chapelle
recorded half of the rain usually received in January. The cold
is a good thing for the vines as long as the buds have yet to
appear. It kills off many of the unwanted parasites without
affecting the plant, and it makes it easier for the winemaker to
drive the tractor between the rows without getting bogged down,
thanks to the hard ground.
The cold winter, combined with a milder spring enabled the
winemakers to limit the number of treatments applied to the
vines. This is good news for our partners, all of whom are
organically or biodynamically certified, as with Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard.
Organic treatments are contact treatments which don't penetrate
inside the plant, so after each rainfall, they have to be treated
again as the rain washes away the protective matter. Too much
rainfall however, makes it impossible to use the tractor to treat
the vines as the earth becomes too cloggy, whilst the wet weather
favours the development of disease.
An ideal Spring for flowering
The flowering season happened at our partners between the
beginning and mid June, the 5th June at Domaine Stentz-Buecher,
and a couple of weeks later at Château de la Bonnelière. Everyone
agreed that the weather was optimal for the flowering. Mild
temperatures between 20 and 25 °C for the most part, and without
wind. Perfect conditions for the good fecundation of the flower
and a good quantity of grapes.
As a rule of thumb, we normally count 100 days between the
flowering and the harvest. This year, the weather will make a
mockery of this saying, as the harvest will be early throughout
France.
A lovely summer and early harvest
The months of June and July were very hot and dry, but the vine
is a plant that needs little water, and withstands heat very
well. At some of our partner wineries such as at the biodynamic
Domaine la
Cabotte, the winemakers were able to help the plant a little
by spraying a tisane, made from stinging nettles and yarrow, in
the morning, to refresh the vines and help them better withstand
the heat.
Even in the most southerly regions, where we often hear about the
lack of water, nature was relatively kind this year, Domaine Allegria reporting
100mm of rain between mid March and mid April, making the summer
a little less stressful.
At all of our partner wineries, the heat helped the development
of the vines, first with the leaves, then through the veraison
when the grapes begin to change colour, and then whilst they
ripen. The lack of water over the past few weeks has preoccupied
the winemakers. Even though dry weather is always better for
harvesting, the grapes find it difficult to grow, and even if
they reach maturity, the quantity of juice, and therefore of
wine, runs the risk of being less than initially forecast during
the flowering period.
The harvest gets under way
The majority of our partner winemakers have now returned from
their summer holidays, a little earlier than other years, and the
harvest has already got under way at some vineyards, such as
Domaine Allegria.
Elsewhere, the preparations are under way to clean and get the
cellars ready, as with Château Beau Rivage, where the 2015 harvest will be
received in the newly renovated chai.
The Gourmet Odyssey Harvest Experience Days get under way next
week, and run between the 5th September and the 4th October.
We'll have to wait a little longer to get a first idea of what
the vintage promises, once the grapes are in the vats and the
fermentation process has begun. We'll then get the chance to
taste the wines during the Vinification Experience Days next winter!