White: Grateful for Small Merci’s
September 30th 2008, by Gavin
It’s the latest harvest for the sauvignon blanc that I can recall, although we did start with that parcel of early-maturing young vines – the plot we now call Dagueneau – on 17th September. The fruit is in lovely condition, and we’re able to machine pick it early in the morning as we have ditched any rot damaged bunches by hand. The fine weather over the last last fortnight has given us the chance to pass by every single white vine to check for rot. Not one of our neighbours is anywhere near as anal.
Clear Skies over Bordeaux
September 28th 2008, by Gavin
It’s late and the harvest would have been a shocker if it hadn’t been for this fine, dry spell during the second half of September. And Bordeaux is a beautiful city when the skies are blue.
“Two things surprised me about Bordeaux,” wrote Paul Shearer in an article in the Financial Times, back in June. “The first was the breathtaking beauty of the place. The second was the warmth of the welcome from the Bordelaises.”
Seven Days in a Week
September 27th 2008, by Gavin
Saturday morning, 4.30am. While France sleeps, the competition are working.
I used to make the mistake of thinking that we had five days in a week in which we could harvest, from monday to friday. I then worked out that nature doesn’t take the weekend off, so Daniel, Nelly and I now focus on simply getting the timing right. Having not picked since wednesday 17th, the old semillon vines in Les Trois Hectares are ready to go. The grapes taste great, the analysis looks good, and the weather forecast is a worry for the middle of next week – and we’ve got a lot of white grapes out there. Over 13 hectares, in fact, or 33 acres. We could harvest the whole lot in a day but we’d lose the morning freshness.
Cutting Away Unwanted Grapes
September 26th 2008, by Gavin
The lovely, dry weather gives us the double benefit of waiting for the grapes to ripen and the chance for us to ditch any bunches which are affected by botrytis or rot before they are picked. As well as Nelly, Daniel and Samira, we’ve got Clementine (right) and Ronan staying with us to help out. This week we’ve been snipping away at the white grapes – the sauvignon blanc and the semillon.
It’s chilly and dry in the mornings, which helps to stop any rot spreading, but jackets are off later in the day.