The
year 2008 will be marked by a high level of pluviometry and
from March to September by an always present layer of clouds.
While
the sunrays couldn't reach the clusters of grapes in early
September because of the thick layer of clouds, we decided
to leave time to nature to finish a good job.
We did all we could to get the good luck on our side. For
instance, we manually thinned out the leaves (you can see
our trainee Aurelien doing so on these pictures). Thinning
out the leaves does not only permit a better exposition of
the grapes to sunlight, it also assures better ventilation
which avoids rot to develop.
With
the excellent wines of the 2007 vintage still in our cellar,
we felt we could take the risk of waiting for the sun to come
through. We have been confident all the time, but this year
we had to wait a long time for the sun to break through!
We
had our first sunny and windy day mid-September, when normally
we already finish harvesting. After a week we still had the
same beautiful weather that even lasted for 15 days. These
were blessed days! With the acidity of the grapes diminishing
and the sugar rate getting higher, we started to feel better.
AND
FINALLY, at a time when often the harvest is not more than
a far-off memory, we started harvesting our red grape varieties
on September 30th. That is 3 to 4 weeks later than in a 'normal'
season.
It is a great relief and a pleasure to do our work in the
cellar with a crop of good quality. Finally the 2008 vintage is one of good grapes, that
dried during 15 days in the Mistral wind and that were able
to mature in generous sunlight.
When
we make up the balance we have a good vintage, aromatic wines
and beautiful pictures of grapes attached to autumn coloured
vines. It was an adventure that we will not soon forget,
a bit like the one of the summer heat of 2003!
When
we start harvesting on September 30th the vines already have
beautiful autumn colours.
Today, on October 10th, when I put this online, we still did
not finish cropping (we still have 1 ha of Cinsault for rosé
wine to harvest, from the 23 ha of our Estate). Meanwhile
the colours in the vineyard are more beautiful every day!
If
you have the possibility and the time, I would like to invite
you to come to our valley to enjoy the beautiful autumn colours
around Intras: the red of the Carignan, the yellow of the Syrah
and the green of the Grenache… But please hurry because
from October 20th leaves will start to fall!
You
are very welcome to taste our 2008 white and rosé wines
on our Open
House Days in March.
At
the moment you may enjoy our much appreciated 2006 red wines.
We also have the excellent 2007 white and rosé wines
available.
Cheers!
And hoping to see you soon in our tasting room!
