The Hand of God
May 13th 2009, by Gavin
Clatter, clatter, clatter. The worst sound in the world for a winegrower.
In the middle of the night, at 3.30 in the morning on 13th May, we were battered by a hailstorm. And when violent winds accompany the sound of hail, we know it’s very bad news. Parts of Bordeaux were hit the night before, on Monday 11th, and we’d had a smattering of peanut-sized hail too. Our vineyard manager Daniel joked yesterday that if we’d been included in that storm, with hailstones the size of new potatoes, we should change our métiers, or jobs. I don’t think he was expecting lightning to literally strike twice.
On close inspection first thing this morning, this is by far the worst we’ve seen here. We lost 50% of the crop on 24 June 2003, and last year we had frost in April that wiped out much of our sauvignon blanc.
Cedars Lost in the Storm
January 28th 2009, by Gavin
We lost several trees in the storm last friday night, including the ancient and beautiful cedar at the farmhouse. It’s a great shame, and the view from the house won’t be the same without it. It’s going to be a hell of a job to clear it all up, and we’re already a bit behind with the winter pruning. The tree has fallen across the vines, which have just been pruned.
What’s strange is that I’d planted a little corner of different varieties for test purposes right here – chardonnay, riesling, viognier, chenin blanc, pinot noir, syrah and so on. All completely illegal of course under French appellation law* but the vines are clearly identified, ahem, as being part of the garden, not the vineyard. The huge branch has fallen right across the chardonnay. So there is a God, or at least one who’s on the side of the people who make the rules.
Storms batter Bauduc
January 24th 2009, by Gavin
Last night, we had strong winds of over 150kms per hour gusting across Bordeaux and South West France. No real harm done here, but we lost several big trees along the drive and are completely blocked in. Our biggest worry with a storm and high winds like this is the huge cedar tree next to the château. We always bring the children down from the top floor for the duration, just in case it the worst happens and it topples over. The storm raged for what seemed all night.
Now where’s the chainsaw? And the tractor…