Toot toot. We’re chuffed that an article from this blog has been shortlisted in the 2012 Born Digital Wine Awards, in the Best Winery Content section.

For each of the 6 categories there’s a shortlist of 5, honed down from over 300 entries from 24 countries.

The piece in question was a rant about a pet hate of mine: the excessive and unfair tax on wine in the UK. It was called ‘13 Unpalatable Truths about UK Wine Duty‘. That was from last year – the follow-up post, with updated numbers and charts, is called ‘UK Duty on Wine up 46% in 4 years.’

The winners will be announced at the London International Wine Fair on 23 May. Fingers crossed.

Congratulations on reaching the shortlist to fellow dribblers and scribblers Ryan O’Connell, Chris Kissack, Louise Hurren, Quentin Sadler and Jim Budd.

Congrats @chris_kissack @jymbudd @mroconnell @LouiseHurren @quentinsadler – shortlisted for gongs: bit.ly/Je6uDt

— Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney) May 10, 2012

What impact a new President might have on the French wine industry is unclear but the continued improvement in the exchange rate is good news for wine drinkers in the UK. Today’s rate of €1.25 to the £ is the best for some time. So we’ve put our UK prices back to the same level as a year ago, despite a duty increase in March.

Since January, we found that by going over the £10 a bottle barrier, sales fell away, so any help we can get with Sterling against the Euro to remain competitive is welcome. Rowan Gormley, the founder of Naked Wines, told me last year at the London International Wine Fair – where we were both speaking at a conference – that every time he put a price up by a pound a bottle, sales for that wine halved. I’d agree, based on some fairly unscientific analysis. For anyone selling wines at around £8 to £9 a bottle, where 40% disappears in UK tax and 10% in shipping and delivery costs, a pound either way makes a huge difference.

To view our wines, with UK prices now all under a tenner, here’s the link to the Best Sellers.

I wrote this article for the trade magazine, Harpers Wine and Spirit, for the April 2012 issue.

Gavin Quinney, a grower in Bordeaux and contributor to Harpers Wine and Spirit, has tasted the top wines en primeur since the 2000 vintage. @GavinQuinney on Twitter.

The 2011 harvest at Pontet Canet

There are only two types of vintage in Bordeaux these days, it seems. “Best ever” (2009 and then, arguably, 2010) and “Better then expected” (2008 and now, 2011). Most of the wine trade and press who attended the annual primeur tastings in early April agreed that the 2011s showed better than everyone thought they would. And, of course, that prices would have to be lower for the wines to sell as futures.

How does 2011 rate?

2011 is not a great vintage for red Bordeaux but it is a good vintage – and a very good one for dry whites, and an excellent one for Sauternes.  I don’t think it’s comparable to any other recent vintage but qualitatively, for the reds, I’d put it well below 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2000 but above 2007, 2004, 2002 and most 2003s (excluding the northern Médoc). It sits somewhere alongside the 2008s and 2001s, depending on the region and the Chateau, and has more charm than 2006.

One plus point about 2011 is that most of the leading Chateaux produced 2011s that typify their terroir, their style, and the vintage. It may not have been a normal growing season in Bordeaux but the wines, for the most part, are faithful to their origin.

’It’s good to return to an Atlantic vintage, after two Pacific ones,’ said Denis Durantou of L’Eglise Clinet in Pomerol. ’With less alcohol.’

The best red wines combine good colour, lovely fruit and texture, balance, fine acidity and freshness. Tannins are the big issue – many wines have hit it just right, with well-knit, ripe, supple tannins. Others though have very dry, astringent, pippy tannins that they might never shed. Many wines have high tannin levels but it’s their quality and ripeness that matter.

What’s missing is that wonderful core of ripe fruit and the intensity, complexity, depth and length that you get from a great vintage like 2010.

The timing of the tastings, for once, slightly flattered these wines when compared to the 2010s at the same stage, given the early harvest in 2011 and the relatively quick alcoholic and malolactic fermentations.

The vintage hotspots

The best wines on the Left Bank came from the better terroirs in St-Julien and Pauillac. Margaux showed mixed results, as did St-Estephe. There are some good wines from the long spread of the Haut-Médoc, and from the appellations of Médoc, Moulis and Listrac. Selection is key, of course, and in a year like 2011, I’d rather wait to taste these wines again in bottle before buying.

South of Bordeaux, the Pessac-Leognan dry whites did well, although I didn’t find them as thrilling as many people did, while the reds were a mixed bag. 2011 was another excellent vintage in Sauternes and Barsac, making it 4 out 5 top vintages to choose from there (07, 09, 10, 11).

Christian Moueix at Chateau Magdelaine in St-Emilion: '2011 was complicated'.

On the Right Bank, the clay-limestone sector of St-Emilion and the plateau of Pomerol produced the best results. Fronsac and some of the Cotes did well, for the same reason that the vineyards on the clay-limestone in St-Emilion did: the limestone beneath the clay topsoil provided enough moisture to the roots during the drought, so that vine development wasn’t blocked, giving the tannins a chance to ripen.

You can always find wines with excessive oak, but these seem to be going out of fashion, thankfully.

A challenging year, early harvest

We often hear the word ’classic’ with years like 2011 but the weather was far from normal. It was also a challenging year in the vineyard. The vines were quick out of the blocks with an early bud break in March and they accelerated away thanks to a very warm, dry Spring, with an early flowering in May – three weeks ahead of usual. March to early July was ridiculously dry, which meant that there was less risk of mildew, but some vines suffered and the berries remained small. There was also a brief heatwave at the end of June that singed many exposed bunches.

We then had more rain than usual in July and August, with changeable temperatures until early September. Sauvignon Blanc for dry whites were picked in August, much earlier than usual. As the red harvest approached there was also a strong threat of rot in the humid conditions but fine, sunny weather in September proved a great help.

Almost all the red grapes were picked in September, which is rare, as you’d normally see the harvest of Left Bank Cabernet Sauvignon and many Right Bank Merlots in October. The only recent year when this happened before this was 2003, a completely different vintage when, conversely, a hot summer brought forward the harvest.

Sorting it all out

For the first time, the array of sophisticated sorting systems earned their keep. If they’d been on test in 2009 and 2010, when everything was picked in great shape, it was in preparation for harvests like 2011. Unripe or rot affected grapes had to be separated out.

Philippe Dhalluin of Mouton Rothschild said his sorting line, including an optical sorting machine, rejected 8% of the crop. Jean-Philippe Delmas of Haut-Brion told me that they ditched between 5% and 7% in this way ’en plus’ – on top of the manual sorting in the vineyard. That’s a significant amount of sub-standard grapes that might have detracted from the final wine.

An optical sorting machine at Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou

This kit isn’t restricted to the First Growths. In St-Julien alone, optical scanners were used at super seconds Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Poyferré, Ducru Beaucaillou and Gruaud-Larose, all of whom made outstanding wines in 2011. Other estates which made superb wines, like Latour, Pontet-Canet and Leoville-Barton, swear by the manpower on their ’double-sorting’ lines (new chez Barton in 2011).  Right across Bordeaux, from Chateau Poujeaux in Moulis to Clos du Clocher in Pomerol, you’d have found clever sorting machines in action in 2011.

Vinifications were relatively straightforward although most winemakers turned the dial down on the extraction to maximise the fruit but restrict the effect of any astringent tannins from the pips.

Last vintage for Latour ‘en primeur’

Latour will only be sold in bottle in future

Just as the trade were expecting an early start to the en primeur campaign, with Lafite suggesting that the wine would be released early and at a reduced price, Latour created waves by announcing to its Bordeaux negociants on Friday, 13^th April that 2011 would be the last vintage to be sold en primeur.

Market pressure v low yields

Given that many top chateaux made far less wine in 2011, it will be interesting to see how proprietors react to market demand for lower prices.

Chateau Margaux 2011: Lowest yields in 20 years

To give you an idea, the maximum permitted yield in 2011 for the top appellations in the Médoc was 57 hl/ha (hectolitres or 100 litres, per hectare), with yields for leading estates in a normal year being around 40-50 hl/ha.

First Growth 2011 yields

Lafite Rothschild produced 50 hl/ha (40% of the production went into the Grand Vin, from 112 hectares)

Latour 42 hl/ha (34% GV, 78 ha)

Chateau Margaux 2011

Margaux 29 hl/ha (38% GV, 78 ha)*

Mouton Rothschild 30 hl/ha (52% GV, 77 ha)

Haut-Brion 39 hl/ha (43 ha)

Other big names:

Léoville Las Cases 27hl/ha

Ducru Beaucaillou 25hl/ha*

Chateau Pontet Canet 2011

Palmer 20hl/ha*

Pichon Baron 30 hl/ha

Pontet Canet 32hl/ha

Cos d’Estournel 36 hl/ha (30% GV)

Montrose 34 hl/ha (50% GV)

At the end of September 2011, I wrote about the unusual 2011 harvest in Bordeaux. Some people out there like to see the nerdy stuff, so I put together my weather charts for Livex, the Fine Wine Exchange. Here’s my article that appeared on their site in March. (For my other fascinating articles on the Livex blog, search ‘Quinney’).

As the trade and press prepare to descend on Bordeaux for the annual en primeur tastings in late March and early April, here are my weather charts for the 2011 season compared to recent vintages.

A summary of what happened in the vineyard:

1. Early budbreak, very warm spring, drought until July.

2. An up-and-down summer.

3. Low threat of mildew early on but risk of rot later.

4. An early harvest under September sun.

5. Picking dates a gamble between ripeness and rot.

6. Sorting and selection were key.

7. Quality and yield vary from one estate to another.

A dry year, again

From March to September 2011, the cumulative rainfall in Bordeaux – on average across all sectors – was 270 mm, way below the 30-year average of 430 mm. In Bordeaux, we like to draw attention to dry years being great ones: 2009 was a dry year, and 2010 exceptionally so. The key difference with 2011 was in the timing.

The monthly rainfall was far lower than normal in March, April and May, lower too in June (when most of the rain fell on one day, the 6^th) and also in September. It was generally higher in the crucial summer months of July and August.

A topsy-turvy year

A good way to look at this chart (Bordeaux Rainfall Comparison 2005-2011) is to visualise the cycle of how the months flow for each year separately. The 30-year average is to be expected – more rain in the Spring, then less rain in Summer and higher rainfall again in September. Then see how 2011 moves in the opposite direction. It was, if you like, an upside down year.

Compare this, then, with a great year like 2009, when we saw lots of rain in April, then below average rain in May, June and July, then drier in August and September (and when the rain came then, it was welcome). Contrast this with the drought of 2010.

Racing ahead, then drought

As well as having precious little rain from March to June 2011, temperatures were far higher in April and May than normal. An early budbreak in March, as visitors to the primeur tastings last year might recall, was followed by the summer-like conditions.

Fine weather during the crucial flowering of the vines from mid-May to early June also suggested an early harvest – and a good crop size, although parts of Margaux, the Graves and Sauternes were hit by hail in late April.

Philippe Dhalluin of Mouton Rothschild was one of many winemakers who told me in June that tests in the vineyard showed that the vines were three weeks ahead.

June itself was slightly cooler than the norm before a fearsome heatwave late in the month, during which exposed bunches were scorched by the sun. The lack of rain to this point had helped to reduce the risk of mildew but there was real cause for concern as many vines suffered and, heading into July, their development had become blocked.

The overall feeling was that, having experienced two very dry summers in 2009 and 2010, further drought would lead to serious problems.

A mixed bag for the holidays

At last, we had some rain in the second week of July. We then had just a little too much rain during the summer holidays, off and on: 153mm here in the two months combined compared to the 30-year average of 106mm.

July was also much cooler than normal but the rain in the middle of the month, then sunshine at the end, helped the grapes to change colour, so we were still a fortnight ahead. Merlot and Cabernet grapes on both banks in Bordeaux on 1^st August in 2010 were still green, mostly. In 2011, they were red.

August ups and downs

August was a month of highs and lows, even if the stats show overall that temperatures were slightly cooler than the average. Heavy rain at first, then chilly, then sunny and dry, then very hot and humid, plenty of rain on the 23^rd, then sunny again.

Some vines, with their timing already out of whack, starting growing new leaves, rather than concentrating on ripening grapes.

The dry whites were picked from the middle of the month onwards, with many chateaux harvesting earlier than ever before.

When to pick: balancing ripeness with the risk of rot.

This is a telling graph. A quick comparison of the threat of botrytis in 2011 with previous vintages shows the challenge faced by winemakers. Note that the results are not the same for every region in Bordeaux – this data is from my local weather station.

With a relatively long ‘hang-time’ from the early flowering in mid and late May, and then a mixed summer, chateaux had to choose the timing of the harvest carefully, balancing phenolic ripeness on the one hand and the risk of rot on the other.

I saw no rot at all on red grapes in September in the last three years, which was not the case in 2011.

There’s been enormous investment in sophisticated grape-sorting equipment in the last three years in Bordeaux. In 2009 and 2010, these machines and techniques were put to the test but made little real difference. Conditions in 2011 gave them the chance to earn their keep.

Early harvest under September sun

September is a crucial month. Fine weather just before and during the harvest can seal a great vintage, as in 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010, or it can save a vintage after a wet summer, as in 2002, 2004 and 2007.

If the rain of the last week of August and at the start of September 2011 had carried on for any longer, hopes for a good vintage would have ebbed away.  Fortunately, despite a difficult start and a wet weekend in the middle of the month, September 2011 was sunny.

An obvious difference was that almost the entire red harvest was completed in September. Château Lafite, for example, began the harvest of the young Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Pauillac on 14^th, whereas last year, they started their Cabernet on 4^th October.

The only other recent vintage that was picked in September was 2003, an altogether different year with its raging hot, bone dry August.

So, in summary, an early harvest, with challenging conditions in the vineyard – drought for the four months to early July, then a tricky summer, ending with a threat of rot. Fine weather in September certainly helped with the timing and quality of the harvest.

It’ll be fascinating to see how the wines have turned out.

 ”Today, I have no further changes to make to the duty rates set out by my predecessor.”

George was at it again in this year’s Budget. Of course, the Chancellor could have said “Duty on alcohol will increase by 2% above the rate of inflation, as put in place by the previous Government” but the news channels would have picked up on that bit of bad news.

The official Budget document doesn’t actually say what the actual increase is. “As announced at Budget 2008, and extended in March Budget 2010, alcohol duty rates will increase by 2 per cent above the RPI. These changes will come into effect from 26 March 2012.”

Anyway, here are some numbers and a few updated graphs.

1.  The duty on still wine goes up on 26th March 2012 from £1.81 to £1.90 a bottle, plus VAT on the duty as well as the wine.

2.  Including VAT, that’s an 11p increase, to a total of £2.28 duty per bottle. (Or £22.80 a case, plus VAT on the duty = £27.36 duty per case.)

3.  Before the March 2008 Budget, duty on wine was £1.56, so we’ve seen an increase of 46% in just 4 years. In the 8 years before that, duty went up 15% in total.

4.  Duty is counted as part of the cost price by retailers and merchants, so one would expect to see prices rise by more than the 11p if margins are maintained.

5. Duty on sparkling wine has gone up to £2.43 a bottle plus VAT (£2.92) – £35 a case. Bloody Nora.

6.  Many Brits have little idea that duty on wine in many EU countries is almost non-existent. The 11p duty rise alone is more than the total duty on a bottle in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Austria put together.

How fair is that?

I was asked by Gemma, the News Editor at Harpers Wine and Spirit, for my thoughts on the 2011 vintage before the trade and press tastings here in the first week of April. Here was my reply.

Even though I live and breath each vintage in Bordeaux, it’s foolish to try and predict how each Château’s wines are going to show from barrel, especially with such an up-and-down year as 2011.

No-one is going to claim that 2011 is a better vintage than, say, 2009. Apart from me, that is – I lost 80% of my crop to hail in May 2009. (So did hundreds of others, for that matter.) But for the great wines, 2011 sits in the shadows of 2009 and 2010, despite the dry and sweet whites from last year showing real promise.

There are some key factors about 2011.

We had a very early budbreak and then a summer-like spring, so the vines flowered about three weeks early in May. By the beginning of July, after a bone dry period of four months, the development of many vines had become blocked through lack of rain. July and August were then up-and-down – at times hot and humid, at other times cool and rainy.

The year will go down as a very dry year, with just 270mm of rain from March to September, compared to the 30 year-average in Bordeaux of 430mm. But in July and August we had around 150mm of rain compared to a norm of 100mm, so a glance at a weather chart will show that it was an upside-down season – dry from March to June and again in September but wetter in the summer. Weird.

There was less threat of mildew early on but, far worse, there was a high risk of grey rot as the harvest approached. The harvest was early, following on from the early kick-off in the spring, with the dry whites being picked in the second half of August. ‘Record de précocité’ shouted the headline in the Sud-Ouest on 30 August.

The 2011 reds were nearly all picked in September. In 2009, and the late harvest 2010, you’d have seen the Merlots being picked in September and the Cabernets in October, so 2011 was an early one, for sure. The only other vintage in the last twenty years when everything came in during September was 2003, a quite different year when there was a dangerous heatwave in August.

Sorting and selection were key, and this put the guys with the best terroirs (that could withstand drought or rot, for example) and, of course, the resources, into a far stronger position.

I can’t stress enough how much investment has been made in the sorting lines and in the top wineries in the last four or five years. In 2009 and 2010, the mind-boggling equipment at some of the major châteaux were simply there as a test, a fashion statement for the cameras. The grapes then were close to perfection. But in 2011, the new-fangled sorting systems have really been put to the test.

My guess is that there’ll be some very good wines, although quite inconsistent. Right Bank over Left? Not a vintage though, I’d wager, to wade into the bulk red wines.

People might describe it as a more classical vintage, even if the growing season was far from typical. The malolactic fermentations generally happened early too, so the reds shouldn’t be too hard to taste.

2011 will be called a ‘drinker’s vintage’, as opposed to one to invest in: prices will have to come down a great deal for the expensive wines to sell through, and not get stuck along the way. It could be a tough year for Bordeaux négociants if they get left holding these babies.

Whatever the prices, everyone will want to see a quick primeur campaign. Recent experience shows, the 2008s notwithstanding, that one shouldn’t hold one’s breath.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the funeral of my father, Jeremy Chavasse Alden Quinney. It was held in the Warwickshire town of Alcester, not far from the village of Sambourne where he’d lived all his life, a dozen miles from Stratford-upon-Avon.

I gave the address, or eulogy as it’s often called, and I’d written everything down in case the nerves got to me in front of the hundreds of people who had come to pay their respects. Near the start, I repeated a line from one of the readings: “For as long as we ourselves live, holding memories in common, a man lives.”

Bearing that in mind, I thought I’d publish my tribute to Dad for family and friends. Five years ago, some of his grandchildren were too young to really understand, and some hadn’t even been born. My stepmother Gel hosts a ‘Bluebell Day’ in his honour each Spring for close family – which we try to get to, with varying degrees of success. Anyway, here is the address I gave.

That was a lovely anthem by the boys and girls from my old school at Abberley and it’s good to see that the standard of singing has improved significantly since I left the choir.  Or rather, was asked to leave the choir.

As you will all understand, this is not an easy thing for me to do but it is a privilege and a great honour for me to talk about my father with so many family and friends here today.  On Gel’s behalf and the rest of the family, thank you all for coming and for the countless messages of support.

When Dad and I talked about this day, we agreed that it should be about celebrating his life.  And this desire has been confirmed in conversations with Gel, and with my sisters Lucinda, Rosanagh, Anabelle and Emily.

It is, of course, very sad and hard to let him go. But we can all take comfort from the thoughts expressed in the reading that follows shortly:

‘For as long as we ourselves live, holding memories in common, a man lives.’

So Dad will be with us for a long time to come.  What I would like to do is share some thoughts with you about Dad and just some of the memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Dad was born on 4^th April 1930, the youngest of three sons of Esme and Alden Quinney.  My Grandmother Esme was called Sam, Grandfather Alden was called Pip, and Dad’s older brothers were David, who has always been known as John, and Thomas, who was called Robin.  Thankfully, my Dad didn’t require an alias so the name Jeremy stuck, although he was affectionately known as Jem.

It was a very different England then, but some things haven’t changed much: All three boys never moved home to anywhere outside the boundaries of Oak Farm and for the three of them to make the trip today to Alcester could be considered to be a bit of a journey.

For a man who lived all his life in two homes that are no more than half a mile apart, Dad had a strong spirit of adventure and a penchant for taking risks.

His early partner in crime was his schoolfriend Gavin Strang, and they got into hot water when they drove through France into Spain, not long after the war.  Perhaps they should have been less obliging when the border guards asked them to carry packages across the Pyrenees but they managed to stay out of jail through Dad’s innocent charm.  A few years later, Dad was deeply saddened when Gavin was killed in Africa but remained loyal to his friend’s memory by giving me his name.

My earliest memories of Dad were of him flying, A close shave hadn’t put him off, when, as a young novice, he was flying on his own to Cambridge and terrible weather closed in and visibility was non-existent.  Dad has always maintained that what happened next was nothing short of a miracle, as he felt a guardian angel take the controls and help him land the plane safely.

Which is just as well, because many of us wouldn’t be here if Dad’s guardian angel hadn’t pitched up at the right moment.

I remember the day with my father, when I had a brush with near disaster at Exeter airport.  I was four years old, and ran towards Dad’s plane as it was parked near the runway and straight into the low part of the wing, near the cockpit. And I have the scar to prove it, below my eye. Naturally Dad was very concerned but he must have thought that if I couldn’t work out where the wing was, there would be little chance of me following in his footsteps as a pilot.

For many years, he ran the Worcestershire Gliding Club, just a few miles from here, down the road near Bidford.  I remember when he flew us to Le Tuquet in France and when we arrived we went to buy an ice cream.  We were offered a range of flavours but the only one I understood was chocolat, so I chose that – even though I didn’t like Chocolate ice cream at the time.  Little did we know then that Dad was introducing me to a future life in France and that my children would have no such problems with the language of ice cream.

Regrettably, the only family film that exists of that period has nothing to do with our daring exploits together in the air.  It shows me as a little boy, sporting a handbag.  I have been shouldering this burden ever since – I don’t mean the handbag but as many of you know, Dad loved to tell, and occasionally embellish, a good story.

Flying might have been his passion but Dad always threw himself into his work.  Funnily enough, he originally wanted to be a civil engineer – and I think he would have been a very good one. He was creative, a good draughtsman, an excellent builder, very practical and he had a great understanding of how things worked.  But his father wasn’t having any of it and so he worked in the family business with his two brothers.

And because he wasn’t really into farming as such, but loved machines and selling things, he ran Quinneys Dairies.  It expanded dramatically and became a household name in the Midlands before it was eventually taken over in the 60s.

It’s fair to say that, after my father and my mother Diana separated, meals during our stays at Spinney Cottage were not ones of great culinary excellence.  Thankfully, Dad met Gel – I can’t believe it’s more than 36 years ago – and a high standard of service was resumed.

Looking back, after meeting the bronzed Adonis that was my Dad, on holiday while waterskiing with his friend David Higgs, Gel must have come down to earth with a hell of a bump when she met Lucy, me and Sannah.  But he still managed to win her over.  I guess it must have been the promise of spending their first night of their honeymoon together in a caravan.

Within a few years, Anabelle and Emily were born and Dad had to slow down a bit with some of his more dangerous pursuits.  I think all those girls were beginning to wear him out.  Really though, as a serial entrepreneur, he didn’t have the time.

After the dairy, he manufactured soft drinks at Oak Farm and then, because the sales were seasonal, he began producing toffee apples in industrial quantities each autumn.  He also started the travel company Trek, the original rough guide to discovering Europe in a minibus.

He has encouraged all of us with equally unconventional ideas – and he supported me when I started selling new fangled things called personal computers.  It sounds tacky now but I was lucky enough – exactly twenty years ago – to have one of those great father and son moments when I drove to Spinney Cottage in a shiny new German sports car.   Anabelle and Emily were keen to have me pick them up from school and although he disapproved of such ostentatious behaviour, his pack on the back meant a lot.  Without doubt, having Dad’s advice and winning his approval has been important to all five of us.

At that time, Dad wanted to make better use of the land near home.  First there was the caravan park, then UK chasers – which was a cross-country horse-riding circuit.  But it was the car boot business that really took off.  He and Gel have made it a huge success, along with Anabelle and Chris in support in recent years. On any given Sunday from April to October you’ll find more people there in the car boot field near Studley, than at most football grounds in the midlands on match days.

In fact, he was so attached to his walky-talky that he said the other day that he wanted to take one with him in the coffin, just in case.  Gel replied that at 300 pounds a pop, he certainly could not.

My wife Angela and I ran the boot sale once, in the early days, when Dad and Gel were away.  The day went well, until late afternoon when everyone made for the exit.  There was a minor car-crash at the main gate but inexplicably a car caught fire, with great palls of black smoke drawing a large crowd, but causing a massive tailback.  The police arrived, the fire brigade – I thought, crikey we’ll get closed down:  Imagine the conversation I had with Dad shortly afterwards.  ‘Everything was fine Dad, just one little hiccup….’.  Strangely, I haven’t been asked back to come and help.

Dad’s work was always close to home.  Of course, he had strong roots and he would remind us of his Quaker background from his father’s side.  He was devoted to his mother, who was staunchly C of E, and when I asked him recently if he had any personal regrets he said he wished that she had lived longer.  She died aged 83, which isn’t too bad.

Granny’s maiden name was Chavasse and her first cousin Noel Chavasse was a Captain in the Medical Corps and the only man to have won two Victoria Crosses during the First World War.  A couple of years ago Dad and I traced cousin Noel’s movements on the Somme, and at Passchendaele near Ypres, where he’d won his two VCs for saving the wounded, the second one posthumously.

The tour was a reminder of how lucky we all are – and it was a great, moving voyage with my father, whose middle name, as you can see from the order of service, is Chavasse.  As indeed is mine, and my little son Tom’s and my Godson and Nephew Bertie’s.  It’s a tradition that started with Dad and one that will continue, I hope, for generations to come.

What gave Dad most satisfaction was that, from these strong roots, he planted his own, not insignificant dynasty.  Four daughters – all of whom he was so proud to give away in marriage to four men with whom he has forged special relationships – along with Angela and me.  He has fourteen grandchildren – Nicholsons, Quinneys, Wilsons, and a Matthews – and I am sure we’re not done there yet.

Dad's 75th birthday at Bauduc, 4th April 2005.

Dad was the head of the family – the core of the family – and even from a physical standpoint it’s hard to imagine anyone taking his seat at the table.  Dad was tall, charismatic and had real presence.  With his integrity and firm views you knew where you stood. He instilled in us a strong work ethic and we have all inherited his creative and entrepreneurial flair. Lucy with her restaurant and cooking empire in the Lake District, me and my vineyard in Bordeaux, Sannah’s personal styling consultancy, Anabelle’s outstanding talent for creating and teaching art, while Emily is studying for a Masters in Visual Arts.

I think what probably unites so many people here is our respect for Dad – I don’t know anyone who was so widely respected by so many different people, from all walks of life.  He was interested in other people’s lives and readily gave sound advice when it was asked for.  He had a great sense of humour, and loved to laugh.  Once in a blue moon he could get quite cross, with that Quinney jaw much in evidence, but the really scary moments were thankfully very rare.

He also had a very kind, tender side.  He stood up for the underdog, loved animals and had a soft spot for some surprising things – he collected delicate, small Coalport porcelain figures for example, and little silver pill boxes.  In recent years, he would buy these on e-bay.  And a few other items too if he could get them past Gel.   However, Dad had auctionitis long before the internet – he called them octions – and wasn’t deterred by the great value job lot of calculators he bought at a sale in the early seventies which, some time after decimalisation, turned out to be in pounds, shillings and pence.

I have no doubt that we will uncover a hoard of previously unseen items – hidden behind the catering vans and all sorts of machinery – in the many barns and outbuildings, and that same caravan, at Spinney Cottage.

In a life of good fortune, he valued some things above all. He was immensely proud of all his children and grandchildren and depended so much on the love and companionship of his wife, Gel.

Thank you Gel, for the loyalty and love you gave Dad on a wonderful journey, and to that journey’s end. With your unflinching support, he was able to face his illness with such amazing courage and grace.

We cannot even begin to take away your loss but I hope that it is some comfort to know how much he means to us all and how much you mean to us as well.

Of late, he would say, to stop anyone worrying too much, ’We’re alright, we’re alright.’ We’re alright too, Dad, and we wish you God speed to your next adventure.

And I hope that when I catch up with you next, you can finally teach me how to fly.

Happy New Year. It may surprise you to know that with Christmas Day 2011 and New Year’s Day 2012 both falling on a Sunday, we didn’t have a Public Holiday in France on Boxing Day or on Monday 2^nd January. The vineyard team worked all the way through, with no additional time off.

But France will more than make up for it in 2012, and the following dates may be useful to bear in mind if you’re planning to come to France or do business here.

Unlike the UK, where Bank or Public Holidays are on Mondays (except for Royal occasions), French public holidays are based on the actual date. This can be a double-edged sword.

The French often like to bridge, or faire le pont*, to make a long weekend of it if the official Public Holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday. I’ve included these unofficial days in the table below.

For us, then, the first half of May is almost a write-off for getting things done. And I reckon the Bordeaux 2011 en primeur campaign will be dramatically impacted, for better or worse. More on this anon.

Many thanks to all our friends, family and customers for all your support in 2011. Here’s to a tasteful Christmas and a vintage year in 2012. (We sent this card out to everyone by email but thought the image would look nice here too.)

Join me at the ‘Three Wine Men’ tasting

3^rd and 4^th December, at Lord’s, London NW8

Prize draw for free tickets

Come and taste our stuff at the ‘Three Wine Men’ event at Lord’s next weekend, hosted by Oz Clarke, Tim Atkin and Olly Smith. There are scores of other wines to try as well.

Oz will be standing on his soap box at the Château Bauduc table at 2pm on Saturday. No doubt he’ll be quite rude about us.

Prize draw for free tickets

We’ve 3 pairs of free tickets to give away. Simply email freddie@bauduc.com now to put your name into the hat for Monday’s draw at 5pm.

Failing that, get £5 off

Tickets are £20 per session.

Visit www.threewinemen.co.uk or phone 0844 858 6759

For £5 off: Book through SEE Tickets and enter discount code ‘3WINEFIVE’ at the checkout.

Date and Times

Saturday 3^rd December

Session 1: 11am-3pm

Session 2:4pm-8pm

Sunday 4^th December

12pm-5pm

Venue

Lord’s Cricket Ground – in the Nursery Pavilion, which is off Wellington Road, St John’s Wood, London NW8 8QN

If you’re coming, do let us know.