Growing Conditions
The hot and arid spring leads to early budding.
Merlots grow very regularly and have a 12-day advance. But on April 27, temperatures of -3.5 °C are raised at 6:30 am: the vine freezes. The following morning, temperatures are still very low. Curiously, some plots are completely spared while others are more than 90% destroyed.
In our misfortune, there are almost no plots with grapes from 2 generations that would have required 2 passages for the harvest.
In August, a very early vintage is coming. But finally the cold and humidity of September postponed the Merlots' harvest to September 19.
We end on October 5 with surgical harvest of frozen Cabernets Sauvignon. We do not sulfitate the harvest, as we have been doing now for 2 years.
Winemaking
The juices color very quickly during the first reassembly. During maturity checks, tasting the berries did not reveal a large tannic structure. Fermentary maceration and 3-week vatting will confirm the profile of a very colorful, fruity, fleshy vintage with a supple and elegant finish".
Aging
Ageing: 75% in French oak barrels (20% new), 25% in vats
