Wasps forbidden!

The harvest will start on September 18 with the whites. It will be a race to pick ripe grapes between the pickers and hungry wasps – if not birds also present in our vineyards.

 

The Jurade Sunday and the heritage night Saturday evening will have this year a particular flavor for us. I hope our 1^st vintage as a 1^st Grand Cru will be great!

Harvest

The harvest is projected to start on September 13 for Valandraud Blanc and in the best case September 24 for the Merlot from our Château Prieuré Lescours. In the meantime, I made a quick trip to Maury to meet with my partner andone of our accountants as well as one of our 2 bankers.

It was also a good opportunity to meet one of our loyal customers from Luxemburg, visit the vineyards, taste the Muscat grapes, pick and eat a few figs and almonds. All organic and very good.

I ate twice at the restaurant-wine store Pichenouille, including one meal with Hervé Bizeul. We drank 2 of his 2010 wines. They were both very good. Clos des Fées is constantly looking for excellence and their wines, like ours, are evolving towards fresher and more fruit. This is coming from picking ripe and sun-drenched grapes.

Each time I regret that we have to drive 4:30 hours to get to Maury.

Carbon

The carbon footprint is not the only important assessment, but also: economic, social, ecological...

I visited my vineyards and cellars before most of my employees left for their holidays, knowing that there's always work to be done in the vineyard as well as in the cellar. The veraison started and confirmed that the harvest will start in late September, early October. It will not be an early year. The vineyards look beautiful but the yields will be quite low. We'll see what happens in Saint Emilion. The vineyards are being so well tended that it looks like a big garden, which is great. This contradicts some of the articles stating that the vines are not being tended. They are probably written by someone who doesn’t go to the same places as me or who has not often worked in vineyards. It would be interesting that a scientific and financial study be done on the hours worked in our vineyards in Bordeaux, in noble appellations and more, and compare it to other places in France supposed to work better or even in other countries (California, Italy ...).

The commitment in personnel, the number of men and women working per hectare should be significantly positive for companies in Bordeaux. In my company, we have a full time employee for 2 hectares, compared with the usual 1 full time employee for 4 hectares, for our fine wines and in addition, we have seasonal workers (pruning, de-leafing, green harvest and regular harvest).

Cheval Blanc visit

Florence and I went to Cheval Blanc to accompany a Welsh architect and her husband who wanted to visit the new cellar. It has been attracting a great deal of visitors for its aesthetics and its design appeals to various kinds of people, not just wine lovers, but also people interested in art and culture, who may find through this way interest in Cheval Blanc. This is relevant for all of us.

The cellar is already more than a year old and ages very well. The vegetation on the roof is remarkable, the sun softened the colors of material, the place is impressive and the vinification cellars still aesthetic, especially the barrel cellar, which has the perfect condition: AC, humidity, aromas, the best.

At Valandraud, our “hotel” venture is starting to work thanks to reservation websites, word of mouth from customers who already experienced the place and customer from our list, friends, acquaintances, neighbors. Our rates are very reasonable for the services offered. Along with our wine shops, this is growing to become a significant part of our business.

Pomerol

I took a walk in Pomerol, Jean-Francois and his team took advantage of good weather to replace dead stock from old age or illness by young ones, a young vine Cabernet Franc with red leaves like a Carmenère.

Our neighbor Jean-Marie Bouldy, Château Bellegrave, who makes a good wine produced and practices organic farming, built a new cellar for his barrels: his loyal customers restaurants need older wines, so you have create enough room to store several vintages.

Pomerol is on the move, Le Pin’s cellar is finished and the one from Petrus is advancing, la Conseillante has to have some work done, this beautiful and prestigious appellation seems to catch-up time.

Peter Morrell

During our recent trip to the Wine Spectator’s Wine Experience, an employee from Peter Morrell, a well-known wine merchant in New York, who tasted Valandraud 2006, asked me to take a picture in the vineyards, so on November 22, I took this picture while there was still leaves on the vine, 20 degrees Celsius, wild cranes just starting to migrate towards Africa, and the malolactic fermentation being easily done probably helped by good weather and relatively a low amount of malics.

The Kosher cuvee of Virginie 2011 already finished its Malolactics and started aging in new oak barrels.
Pruning has started and a bit of cold weather would drop the leaves, you cannot have everything, don’t you?

I was never able to only put water in my water

Quote from Francis Picabia.

In fact, "to water down one’s wine" really means to lower one’s pretentions.

Well, the 2011 harvest can be deemed as good vintage, thanks to the careful and responsive work done in the vineyards.

I extend my thank to Paul-Marie Morillon, Christopher Lardière, Xavier Lacoste and all my employees working in the vineyards for they had to endure extreme weather changes this year: a drought in the spring, heat waves, heavy rains in the summer and fortunately ideal weather on time for the harvest.

In the end we have a good wine, especially in the right bank and particularly in St. Emilion, with levels varying between 13⁰ and 14.5⁰, superb color, ripe tannins and densities which will mostly improve after ageing. We’re devatting the last tanks this week and will be done next week. The employees in the cellar did not stop but the result is good in both quality and quantity and this gives me a reason to smile, even if Monday will give us the chance to have a four days break, it will not be enough to recover from the intense fatigue rarely experienced in our company. Thank you for the nice yields.

Carmenère

This is our last day of harvest. After the Cabernet Sauvignon picked on Monday, October 3, in front of the cellar of Valandraud in Saint Etienne de Lisse, it is now the turn of the small plot near Château Fleur Cardinale to be picked today. The Carmenere have gotten rid of their vegetal taste, and by the way, 60% of the crop (as Professor Denis Dubourdieu would say, forgotten varietals... should be forgotten!). This is a complicated varietal in Bordeaux due to our climate.

Fleur Cardinale is currently still harvesting its Merlot, until Saturday night. Next Tuesday-Wednesday will probably be the Cabernet Sauvignon which seems to be very good. As Bob Avargues would say: A bomb (fruit!)

At our place, we started devatting the juice from plots picked around 10-15 September, the length for the vinification and maceration are slightly shorter than usual, the wines are quite surprising for the time being and rather easy to make, the colors are beautiful, the sugars easily turn into alcohol, the PHs are good, tannins soft, only the malos need to be done and I can’t wait...

Thunevin-Calvet

Trip to Maury to see the harvest.

Our partners were in the middle of the harvest with another 10 days to pick the grapes located on the high granite parcels of Lesquerde (300/400 m).

Good quantity and quality this year in the Roussillon, with yields around 35 hl / ha! It will be important to taste these wines after malolactic, the balance for many of our wines will be less "Southern" than usual.

For our meal, we drank: The Voulte Gasparet 2009 Corbières, very nice, drinkability is the term I can describe this wine we’ve known for a long time. 2010 Valmy rosé, from Roussillon; nice wine as well for this region not known for its rosés, but it's changing.
A nice series of wines at Claudine and Hervé Bizeul who were still harvesting, in the cellar, and all over the place but who did find time to spend with us and cook a nice meal the way we like it.
The weather has been fantastic in the Roussillon and Bordeaux. This works miracles on wines and spirits. FYI, there are three restaurants in Maury able to satisfy every palate, the Michelin star, the bistro and the country restaurant, all worth a visit.

Harvest of Cabernet

Cabernet Sauvignon waiting to be picked on Friday, September 30

The Cabernet Francs have already been picked.

The serious stuff has began

Thursday, September 22 the harvest started for Valandraud. All our plots have a name, including the three plots in Fongaban next to Saint Emilion and meticulously tended by Murielle. You can see them when you take the small road to St Emilion, surrounded by vegetable gardens and famous crus.

Then it was the turn of Laroque (or rather Rocheyron, in the commune of Saint Christophe des Bardes), which belongs to the partners and friends Faugères-Pingus with Peter Sisseck who is also picking his Merlot. He came to our house for dinner to enjoy an omelet with ceps and a 2008 Virginie de Valandraud bottled late! We also drank a Bad Girl for fun, Maury from Calvet Thunevin 2007 and a bewildering Petit Gravet Ainé 2003 (?)

At Valandraud, the plot “above the pond” in Saint Etienne de Lisse was harvested as well as the old Malbec nearby on the south side.

Today it’s Pomerol’s turn with our team. They harvested 16 rows, with more than 50 people to ensure all necessary care for this vintage as it seems that we expect some very good surprises. Hurrah for good weather.

Yesterday, we were invited for the harvest lunch by our friends in Troplong Mondot. What luck and what a privilege to be there. Troplong Mondot 2007 is simply outstanding and the 2002 is full of promise: and could be cellared for a few years. It was a beautiful table with friendly and charming guests and it even included a Burgundian!

We then had a quick tour to check the harvesting systems at Troplong Mondot, Sansonnet, Pressac, Faugères, Rocheyron and at our place.

Fourcas Hosten

Visit with Bordeaux brokers of Chateau Fourcas Hosten , Listrac Médoc, which was purchased in 2006 by the families of Renaud and Laurent Mommeja (shareholders of the Hermes Group) and since all human and financial resources have been made available to this wine to make it one of the best in Medoc.

You just need to do a vertical of Fourcas Hosten to realize that something great is happening starting with this 2010. This wine has certainly benefited from the talent of the young female enologist, the work in the vineyards and the new cellar.

Furthermore, they are still a good value, which gives us even more pleasure to defend it. I was amazed by this 2010, I loved the 2009 and I was also surprised by the quality of 2003.
With our meal, the 1989 was served in a pitche and was of the level of a first growth. Was it due to the atmosphere, the bottle? Anyway it is a pity there are no more for sale!

Harvest

Yesterday Wednesday, September 7: 1 st day of harvest of red grapes, young 3 years old vines, located in La Grézolle, in the commune of Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens. Purchased in 1991, just 15 days before the terrible frost. We performed miracles: Valandraud 1992, 1995 and 1998 are there to prove it.
This vineyard was the end of its life and has to be pulled up with sadness and replanted with hope and joy, for we just have to wait a few years to see if we can, one day, make good wine, if our choice of rootstock, clone, density and viticulture methods are good! The grapes will be used this year for a 3rd second cuvée, the taste is rarely there in 3 year old vines, although we’ve always done miracles in Saint Etienne de Lisse.

Thursday, September 8, we are harvesting of old vines of white of Domaine Virginie Thunevin in Lalande de Fronsac.

Annoying

White: the harvest goes on with the Sauvignon Gris and Sauvignon Blanc, our “old” vines.

This week we will probably pick young vines of Merlot in Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens (La Grezolle) and probably two or three vines, knowing that we will be guided, as usual, by the health of our grapes and the weather.
In the words of Stéphane Toutoundji on his blog: “2011 you annoy me! “... (in French) I would have been more rude – no doubt due to my lack of education.
Hard to me more complicated than the weather in 2011, and yet it looks like we will be able to make a correct vintage, if not a good vintage if the sun, the wind and cool nights deigned to look after the birth of this 2011.
Same situation in the Roussillon, according to our consultant Claude Gros. As of today, the prognosis is 2002 or 2001. And it's not the same! With, in addition plenty of grapes and over there “quantity” on the hillsides is 30 to 40 hectoliters / hectare!

The harvest goes on

3rd time the pickers pass in the vineyards of 2011 whites of Valandraud and Virginie. This is haute couture: successive passes to pick ripe grapes from the stock, which are, this year, very heterogeneous. Those placed in the high plots with very dry soil received a complete green harvest to keep the stock alive! The old vines have not yet begun.

The degrees are again this year, staggering. And the grapes and juice from the fruits are very sweet and taste really good.
What will the wine be? We’ll know in a month!

Photographer

Alain Benoit and his assistant spent six hours with us to take pictures of us in all sorts of situations: eating, Murielle cooking, me with Fifi (the Chinese rooster), Murielle and INAO (our cat), in the vineyards trying to taste the grapes, in the cellar tasting, on the right, on the left, in the sun, in the shade ... This is the 2nd time he comes for the same publication, proof that this magazine wants to make the best story possible on us, the text having already been written a few months ago. After work, I showed them a place I particularly like: the caves of Ferrand.

Meanwhile, an additional passage to de-leaf a few vines of red and white, while some of our colleagues want to harvest tomorrow in Pomerol, they will harvest early.
We still haven’t done 20% of white and maybe we will start the reds on September 12.

Monday, August 29, sauvignon blanc

This morning, we did the 2nd picking of a few Sauvignon Blancs. The very cold nights (10/12°), improve the aromas of our grapes, which are picked ripe ...

Pontet Canet in August

Visit with Michel Puzio (Croix de Labrie) of the vineyards and cellars of Château Pontet Canet in Pauillac, received by one of the person in charge of the vineyards. I wanted to see how a non-cropped vineyard looks like: Well, it makes you want to try, at least on a nice parcel. Pontet Canet is a leader in a lot of areas, including how to properly use horses to plow, treat, in fact replace tractors with the goal of producing good grapes, the entire vineyard being biodynamic, at least this year, makes you want to do the same. The tests I did with biodynamic in 2000 and 2001 did not work at that time so I decided to stop.
Before starting again, I will wait for others to show the way, preferring, for once, to be a follower rather than a precursor.
The visit of the cellar, the wooden vats and especially the cement ones, which I am proud to be partly responsible for, show how serious and precise the wines are made and the image the owners want to convey. We were not there to taste; it will be for next time.

Harvest

Thursday 25 August, the harvest started with the young vines of Sauvignon Gris and the high plots where the terroir is leaner. Still the grapes are very sweet and delicious to eat, as good as table grapes!

Green Harvest

Green harvest for the whites and the reds

The veraison of white grapes indicates that the harvest will begin around August 15 with the Sauvignon Gris, and end with the Sauvignon and Semillon.