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.

If it hadn’t been for Steve Jobs, I wouldn’t have read the sad news on my iPad this morning, or be typing on my Mac now. Our kids wouldn’t be playing games on my wife’s iPhone, and there wouldn’t be any iPods lying around.

Of course, we’re not the only family surrounded by all things Apple but if it hadn’t been for Steve Jobs, the company’s co-founder, we probably wouldn’t be living in this château.

It was the announcement of the original Apple Macintosh in 1984 that got me into the micro-computer industry (as it was called back then) which would eventually give me the chance to buy a vineyard. Before then, my CV consisted of two jobs in different fields, and two dismissals.

My first job was as at Christie’s, the auctioneers, as a porter in the Old Masters picture department in St-James’s Street, London. Unfortunately, after a promising start, I was caught playing football in one of the galleries, using a painting by Matisse as a goalpost. A few of us got fired, not unreasonably. No harm done though, as the football had been made of sellotape and bubble-wrap: the Matisse went on to fetch a world record auction price for a 20^th century painting.

I decided to pursue a career with my new hobby, which was drinking and learning about wine, but my job in a shop called the Wine Growers’ Association also turned about to be quite short lived. Despite my obvious talent – I passed the WSET Higher Certificate ‘with distinction’, no less – I was fired a second time. This wasn’t fair at all as the shortfall in stock wasn’t down to me, so I sued them for unfair dismissal, and won.

This left my career at a bit of a crossroads, despite a profitable sideline running coaches for football fans.  Then, in 1984, I stumbled upon the Apple Macintosh with its ‘graphical user interface’ a funny thing called a mouse, and that amazing advert. Suitably fired up, I joined a small Apple dealer in Kilburn, which was unheard of for someone who lived in Fulham, but I did think there was a market for these things. I moved at the end of the year to Computacenter, a proper computer dealership based in Kensington, as the resident Apple expert. I even sold the Apple 11c.

Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985 and selling Apple stuff after that was a tough call, except to designers. I switched to the dark side, selling IBM and IBM-compatible PCs, which flew out the door to corporate customers like hot cakes. Ten years later, I ended up as head of sales.

Mr. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 just as the very smart founders of Computacenter – which by now had a turnover of £1 billion – decided to float the business on the London Stock Exchange. My share options had matured, so I sold them when the company went public in 1998. We bought Château Bauduc with the proceeds a year later and moved here lock, stock and barrel.

Perhaps it was meant to be, but I am hugely indebted to Steve Jobs for enticing me into the exciting world of personal computers after an abject start to my working life. Nowadays, I’m a born-again Apple addict.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the transcript of the ‘Commencement address’ that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University in 2005, it is well worth reading. Especially if you are at a crossroads in your career, whatever your age.

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

With the growing season almost three weeks ahead of last year, the harvest of our white grapes at Château Bauduc kicked off at the end of August. It wasn’t the easiest vintage, as we had four months of near-drought from March to early July and a tad too much rain from mid-July to the beginning of September. The summer was cool overall but at times it was very humid, which caused problems. In the end, after getting hands-on in the vines to sort the grapes, we’re pretty pleased with the result.

Here’s the story of the white harvest in photos. Click on an image to enlarge it.

After two great Bordeaux vintages, 2011 has been a year of living dangerously. “It’s complicated,” Christian Moueix explained when I asked what he thought of the millésime, as his team picked in St-Emilion. If one of the most respected winemakers thinks it’s hard to generalise, it might be foolish for the rest of us to rush into snap judgments.

Let me try and explain what’s been going on in the Bordeaux vineyard this year, and forgive me for the amount of detail. My fascinating weather charts will follow later.

Here’s a summary:

1. Early start, warm spring, then drought.

2. An up-and-down summer.

3. Early harvest, September sunshine.

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

5. These magnificent men (and women) and their sorting machines.

6. Volume 5% up overall but yields vary from one estate to another.

7. Finally, a Tweet showing how the growing season compares.

1. Early start, warm spring, then drought

Merlot vines, 9th April 2010

We had an early budburst in Bordeaux in late March, then a much warmer April and May than usual, indicating an early harvest. Fine weather during the crucial flowering of the vines in late May and early June also suggested a good crop size.

June was slightly cooler than the norm, despite a fearsome heat wave late in the month, during which some exposed bunches were sunburnt. (Worse than that, some parts of Margaux, the Graves and Sauternes were hit by hail earlier on.)

Same vines, 9th April 2011

In these four months from March to June, we had very little rain: 89mm in total here, compared to a 30-year average of 290mm. (Figures vary across Bordeaux.)

70% less rain than the average, over four months, might well have reduced the risk of the evil mildew but there was real cause for concern as young vines suffered from from a lack of water and, heading into July, the development of many vines ground to a halt.

Vines on the great terroirs, which naturally allow the roots access to just enough moisture in the sub-soils, fared better. Those terroirs would be tested again, in a quite different way, when good drainage would be required during the summer rains.

Philippe Dhalluin, Technical Director of Château Mouton-Rothschild, told me in late June that tests in the vineyard had showed that the vines were three weeks ahead, and that the harvest there would start around 5^th September.

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

2. An up-and-down summer

A vine at Tertre Roteboeuf, St-Emilion, bunches still green, 1 August 2010

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

July was 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 either Bank in Bordeaux on 1^stAugust in 2010 were still green, mostly. This year they were red.

The same vine at Tertre Roteboeuf, St-Emilion, red bunches, 1 August 2011

August was a month of highs and lows, even if the stats show, overall, that temperatures were slightly cooler than the average. Rain at first, then chilly, then sunny and dry, then very hot and humid, heavy rain on 23^rd, then sunny again. Some vines, with their timing already out of whack, starting growing new leaves, rather than concentrating on ripening grapes.

With the vines well in advance, and the threat of rot in the humid conditions, the dry whites were picked from the middle of the month onwards, with most growers starting to harvest by the end of August.

Earliest white harvest on record, claims Sud Ouest

As the Sud Ouest newspaper declared on the 30^th, this was a very early kick-off.

3. Early harvest and 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. The attractive 2008s – a much later harvest than this year – were helped by a prolonged dry spell from mid-September onwards, whereas many 2006s had the shine taken off them by mid-September rain.

With the vines so advanced, the weather this September has been even more pivotal. If the rain of the last week of August and 1^st September had carried on for longer, hopes for a good vintage would have ebbed away. After a nervous, cloudy first week, the sun came out from the 9^th and Châteaux were able to harvest during three weeks of mostly fine weather.

Hail hit grapes in St-Estèphe

September 2011 did indeed start badly, with heavy rain – and worse – on the 1^st. Hail in much of St-Estèphe, and in other parts of Bordeaux, meant an early start to the harvest for some, as grapes had to be brought in early to avoid any rot spreading, and shredded leaves could no longer help the ripening process. Château Lafite started picking their parcel of Cabernet in St-Estèphe on Saturday the 3^rd, Montrose kicked off too, and Cos d’Estournel the following week.

The Merlot harvest, other than in the vineyards hit by hail on 1^st September, began as usual in the ‘precocious’ vineyards of Pomerol and Pessac-Léognan. Harvesting began there during the first week of September (young Merlot vines were picked, in fact, at Haut-Brion as early as the 29^th August) but the weather really improved from the 9^th onwards. With the sun out, winemakers became bolder in the quest for ripeness, especially if they had a modern sorting line to hand.

Harvest at Le Pin, as seen from the roof

Most of the red action was from Monday 12^th onwards, on both banks. In Pomerol, L’Eglise Clinet and Le Pin, delaying the start from the previous week, began on Monday 12^th. Way across the Gironde in Pauillac, Château Lafite started to harvest their young Cabernet Sauvignon vines on 14^th September (last year, they didn’t start their Cabernet until 4^th October), just as they finished their Merlots. Mouton completed their Merlots and started with young Cabernets on 15^th September.

We had rain on Sunday 18^th and on the 19^th but the sun returned on Tuesday 20^th, and with it the harvest in earnest. The Merlot harvest in St-Emilion really began then, shortly before they’d finished in nearby Pomerol – there were still plots of Merlot left at Pétrus, for example, on the 21^st.

Château Margaux, 23 Sept 2011

Meanwhile the Châteaux on the Left bank were harvesting all the red varieties the week beginning 19^th, and into the following week. Château Margaux was still bringing in Merlot on the 23^rd  with the Cabernet Sauvignon to be completed the week after.  Meanwhile, Château Léoville-Barton – which often finishes before its peers – completed the harvest on Friday 23^rd.

The harvest on the Left Bank in St-Julien, Pauillac, St-Estèphe, Margaux and the Haut-Médoc is being wrapped up, under a hot sun, before the end of September. This doesn’t happen very often: in fact, the only other recent vintage when the reds of the Left Bank were picked in September was 2003, which was, after a summer drought and heat wave, a quite different year.

With such lovely weather in the last three weeks of September, it’s a pity that the early start to the season, and warm Spring, meant that the grapes were ready much earlier than usual. An early October harvest would have been spot on.

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

Château Pontet Canet, 22 Sept 2011

With a relatively long ‘hang-time’ since the early flowering in late May, but with a difficult summer, winemakers have had to choose the timing of the harvest carefully, balancing phenolic ripeness on the one hand and the risk of botrytis – grey rot – on the other. I’d seen no rot at all on red grapes in September in the last three years, quite unlike this year.

Leading producers, from Christian Moueix at Château Magdelaine in St-Emilion, to Alfred Tesseron at Château Pontet Canet in Pauillac, were at pains to point out how important it was to risk having some bunches in the vineyard with rot, in order to harvest fruit that was fully ripe. Any rot-affected bunches could be eliminated during the sorting process – at leading and ambitious estates, that is.

Jean-Michel Comme

“If the grapes are unripe you will taste that in the wine for 20, 30 or 40 years,” said Jean-Michel Comme, Pontet Canet’s technical director. “Ce n’est pas tout a fait mûr” shrugged Didier Cuvelier, the owner of Château Léoville Poyferré, as he waited to pick grapes that weren’t yet completely ripe. (“It’s all about the pips, apparently,” Anthony Barton told me once, mockingly.)

If we hadn’t had fine weather for much of September, rot would have been rampant. But some growers who left grapes out to capitalise on the late September sunshine found that they simply withered on the vine as they passed their sell-by date.

5. These magnificent men (and women) and their sorting machines

This year, for the first time, the new sorting machines and state-of-the-art sorting tables, should really prove their worth: it has certainly been a vintage year for the suppliers of modern grape-sorting equipment in the wake of two extraordinary primeur sales campaigns.

Grape sorting machines have been around for a few years but the new systems, including optical ray scanners and the like, have really been tested since the 2009 vintage. In the last two years, there has been little to reject as ripeness was fairly even.

In 2011, in comparison, grapes even in the same bunch have shown different levels of ripeness. More importantly, this year there has been a lot more rot in evidence, so it’s been important to eliminate this – usually by hand, before the bunches are de-stemmed.

'Tri-Optique' sorting machine at Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

At the top châteaux – and this can include many lesser-known names which try to punch above their weight – hand-picked bunches are inspected first, either in the vineyard or in the winery. The grapes are then de-stemmed in the winery before being crushed as they go into the fermentation vat.

In the last decade, many more efficient de-stemming machines have been installed, with another sorting table thereafter for the individual berries. The sorting both before and after de-stemming is often referred to as ‘double sorting.’ In the last few years, some châteaux have opted for the new wave of grape-sorting machines.

Perfect grapes pass the test

To give you an idea, within a few square miles of St-Julien alone, there’s impressive new sorting machinery at Ducru Beaucaillou, Gruaud Larose, Léoville Barton, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Las Cases and at most of the Crus Classés. And it’s not just at the most expensive crus that you’ll find clever sorting systems: Clos d Clocher in Pomerol, Haut-Simard in St-Emilion, and Poujeaux in Moulis are just a few of the properties across Bordeaux using state-of-the-art kit to eliminate inferior grapes.

Unripe grapes picked out by hand at Léoville Barton

Quality is very uneven. However, there’s no doubt that those estates with the best vineyards, which have had to cope with both drought from March to early July and then provide drainage for excess rain during the summer, along with the necessary manpower, know-how and deep pockets, have given themselves the chance to select just the best grapes to make some pretty good wine. In Bordeaux, success breeds success.

I’m afraid that the opposite is also true as there are too many vineyards this year with big yields and, shall we say, just a hint of rot.

6. Volume 5% up overall but yields vary from one estate to another

The official estimate for the yield for the Bordeaux harvest is 5% above the 5-year average at 6.1 million hectolitres (a mere 813 million bottles’ worth). That covers the whole region, of course, and most growers don’t cut back their crop – especially if it looks in the early stages that there’s a likelihood of a third very dry vintage on the trot.

'Green' harvest - discarding excess bunches to improve those that remain on the vine - St-Emilion, 23 August 2011

After the rainy summer, which filled out the grapes, yields in some parts of the Right Bank, particularly in the less prestigious appellations, were potentially huge.

My view is that most leading Châteaux will make normal yields, as many cut back their crop through stricter pruning and vine management, and from green harvesting in July, August and even early September.

Low yields can be expected from some leading châteaux in Margaux, Graves and Sauternes, as a result of the early season hail, and strict selection for the first wines of some top estates in St-Estèphe will reduce volumes of ‘Grands Vins’ after the hail of 1^st September.

7. Finally, a Tweet showing how the growing season compares

Finally, for fun, here’s a Twitter version of how the growing season compares to the other years I’ve lived through – considering Bordeaux as a whole, not just our vineyard:

2011 Bdx growing season: 7/10. 10: 9/10, 09: 9/10, 08: 7/10, 07: 6/10, 06: 7/10, 05: 9/10, 04: 6/10, 03: 6/10, 02: 5/10, 01: 7/10, 00: 8/10.

Now it’s time for me to take a look at Sauternes and Barsac. After all, for those vineyards that escaped the hail, and with this brilliant weather at the end of September, it should be looking good.

This article appeared in the blog of Livex – the Fine Wine Exchange – and in the subscriber section called Inside Information on JancisRobinson.com.

Anthony Barton and his daughter, Lilian

It has been a few years since the Barton family of Château Langoa-Barton bought a château. Not since the 1820s, in fact, when Hugh Barton, having first acquired Langoa in 1821, purchased part of the Léoville estate in 1826 that would later become Château Léoville-Barton. Both Langoa and Léoville were included in the famous 1855 classification and, along with Château Mouton-Rothschild, are the only Châteaux since 1855 to remain under the same family ownership. Anthony Barton and his daughter Lilian run the two Saint-Julien estates today.

So when Lilian told me last Friday, on the final day of their harvest, that they had just purchased a property called Château Mauvesin in Moulis, I was quite surprised.

“The previous owner wanted to keep it quiet until after everything was signed in August. Since then we’ve invested in a lot of equipment for the new vintage but haven’t told anyone.” Intrigued, and with an invitation to go and have a snoop, I drove the short distance down the D2 from Saint-Julien to Moulis, an appellation that includes the famous Château names of Chasse-Spleen and Poujeaux. Château Mauvesin lies just off the D1215, near Castelnau-de-Médoc, and no doubt many people in the wine trade have driven straight past the entrance without ever noticing the small sign, on their way up to Pauillac via Listrac.

Château Mauvesin

It’s a beautiful estate, with 48 hectares of vines in a single block surrounding the Château, complete with parkland and a lake. 40 of those hectares, which are planted with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in roughly equal measure, are in the Moulis appellation, the rest being Haut-Médoc.

The property has been owned by the Baritault du Carpia family and their predecessors since the late 15^th century – making the Bartons look like Johnny-come-latelies – and the imposing, classically proportioned Château was built in 1853. Lilian Barton and her husband Michel Sartorius, who beat off foreign competition to buy the place (you’d never guess where from), will live at the Chateau with their two grown-up children. Under the terms of the sale, the previous owner’s elderly mother will continue to live there with them. I’ve heard from another Château owner that the spritely 101 year-old matriarch puts in 45 minutes each day on her exercise bike.

20 cuves (vats) have just been installed

The chai, where the wine is made, is a short walk from the château, and 20 gleaming stainless steel, temperature-controlled vats have just been installed in what had previously been the barrel cellar. “Only there weren’t any barrels left to worry about”, Lilian said.

The contrast of the Barton’s new ambition with the old regime is symbolised by the state-of-the-art sorting machine located next to the traditional concrete receiving bin into which the grapes used to be tipped.

New grape sorting machine

The Bartons have finished harvesting the Merlot and are making a start on the later-ripening Cabernet this week.

Château Mauvesin is currently sold in French supermarkets, in the main, but this is likely to change. I bought the 2010 in Carrefour and it’s a decent enough wine. There is, however, more than enough character and sense of place to suggest that there’s a rosier future ahead.

The cunning plan, as it stands, is to call the new wine Château Mauvesin-Barton. After all, sticking the word Barton on the end of a Château name hasn’t done them any harm.

Our personalised labels have been going down well, so we’ve tightened up on the process and can price them attractively at £1.50 a bottle surcharge. A minimum order applies and advance planning is recommended to avoid high shipping bills.

We can't think of many Bordeaux Châteaux that print bespoke labels for weddings...

The cost is £1.50 per bottle surcharge, with a minimum one-off fee of £180 – which covers the first ten cases of 12 (120 x £1.50). The ten cases can be made up of different wines – white, red and rosé. For more on the wines, which cost between £7.95 and £9.75 per bottle in the UK for the regular labels, see here.

Essentially, we use the classic Bauduc label, with our special raised print, and can add 3 lines of personal text below the drawing on our label.

Collection from our Calais depot for large orders is a handy option to avoid UK duty at £2 a bottle, but note that the Calais cost-saving detour is advisable only for private functions, not corporate events.

For any enquiries, email Angela on team@bauduc.com.

‘Points v prices’ often throws up some anomalies but we couldn’t resist these scores by Jancis Robinson MW, the UK’s most respected critic. (Source: www.jancisrobinson.com). Prices are per bottle, UK.

Château Mouton Rothschild blanc 2009              £70      16 points/20

Château Bauduc blanc 2009                                   £8.95  16.5 points/20

Château Haut Brion blanc 2009                             £750    17 points/20

Yes, Haut Brion blanc, a rare wine, is £750 a bottle from leading UK merchants. The Bauduc blanc is available online here.

Here are Jancis’s tasting notes for each wine – interestingly, the Haut Brion and the Bauduc are made from almost identical blends:

Château Mouton Rothschild, Aile d’Argent blanc 2009

“Spicy, stinky nose. Racy and a bit sweet. A superior bordeaux blanc but not nearly as subtle as Pavillon Blanc. Drink 2012-2015, 16 points /20.”

Château Bauduc blanc 2009 

Our white harvest in 2009 was partially hand-picked after hail

“For 10 years this has been the house wine at Gordon Ramsay. 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, much of the fruit from a leased vineyards because the Quinneys lost 80% of their own grapes in two hailstorms in May 2009. Crystal clear piercing nose. Attractive smokiness and good palate weight. Just a tiny hint of the oiliness of some white Graves (and much cheaper).  I would chill this quite heavily. Excellent value. Drink 2010-2012. 16.5/20.”

Château Haut Brion blanc 2009

“62% Sauvignon Blanc, 38% Sémillon – an unusually high proportion of Sauvignon and I can understand why, so fat is the wine. Yet it smells fatter and less Sauvignon than La Mission Blanc – as so often. Very round and rich – you have to seek the acidity. Very forward and plump.. Good citrus tingle. Long but a little hot on the end. The strongest ever Haut Brion Blanc (14.2% alc). Drink 2015-2019. 17/20.”