Last weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Harvest
Experience Day 2010 clients at Domaine Chapelle, with a few drops
of rain, but in good cheer! Everyone was looking forward to
harvesting their grapes, now finally ripe for making the 2010
vintage.
A few morning rain showers meant that we changed the order of the
day a little. After the introduction to the region and the
wine estate by Jean François Chapelle, we headed off to the
reception hall where the grapes, freshly harvested by the team of
40 harvesters, are received to be inspected by the expert eyes of
the sorting table team.
Yannick, the Vine Manager and, during harvest time, manager of
the sorting team, explained and showed us how to separate the
good grapes from the bad, thus ensuring that only the best
continue their journey into the fermentation tanks. Around
the sorting table, the atmosphere is very jovial, and the jokes
fly around.
Once sorted, the good grapes enter the destemming machine to
separate the grapes from their stems. The stems are then
collected together with the rejected grapes, part of which will
be turned into compost to nourish the vines for the next harvest,
and the rest used to make the strong liqueur, Marc de Bourgogne.
Domaine Chapelle boasts a new reception hall which was completed
just in time for last year's harvest. It was engineered to
make the handling of the grapes as gentle as possible to help
further improve the quality of the wine. And so instead of the
grapes being pumped, as is the case in many wineries, they slide
by the force of gravity into the awaiting trolley below.
The trolley is then wheeled by hand to one of the vats where each
vineyard plot is fermented individually. The grapes and
their juice enter the vats to ferment, which can last between 10
and 25 days depending on the year.
By this stage, the rain had now stopped, and so arrived the
moment that everyone was waiting for! Down to the vineyard,
booted up and armed with secateurs to harvest the grapes.
Each client introduced themselves to their adopted vines,
identifiable by a sign with their name on, and after a quick
lesson by Jean François on which grapes to pick, it was time to
knuckle down to work! And we can testify that the harvest
was a good one!
After the effort, the just rewards! Back to the winery for the
wine tasting, accompanied with gougères, a local Burgundy
specialty. We started with Domaine Chapelle's Meursault
2008, followed by the 2003 and 2005 vintages of their Santenay
"Clos des Cornières", the wine chosen for the Gourmet Odyssey
Wine Experience. Jean François explained the difference
between the two vintages, which is very pronounced due to the
heat wave of 2003. We then finished with the Gevrey
Chambertin 2007 and the Santenay Premier Cru "Beaurepaire"
2002.
Next, off to the make-shift harvesters' refectory, to savour one
of Yvette Chapelle's legendary harvesters' meals. Yannick
had spoken of them in hallowed terms during the last Wine
Discovery Experience Day, and we weren't let down! Parsley ham,
followed by beef, stewed in an Aloxe Corton (one of the estate's
wines) sauce, regional cheeses, and a delicious apple tart, all
accompanied with a Santenay Premier Cru "La Comme" 2002.
Difficult to get moving again after such a feast!
We finished the day with a guided cellar tour. Yannick
explained the important ageing and blending side of winemaking,
and the impact that the choice of wine barrels has on the wine.
To sum up: A very pleasant day, full of encounters, sharing and
conviviality. We hope that everyone left with a small
insight into the life of a winemaker during the busy harvest
season, and that the next drop of Domaine Chapelle's wine will be
that much more appreciated!