Bordeaux 2009 is going to be special!

Well I’ve finally been able to get in front of my computer after a
week of solid picking, both at La Clarière and Verniotte. We’ve now
probably got about half of the merlot in and it really does look
phenomenal! And to top it off we have had solid sunshine for it all,
and it looks set to continue into next week. I have never known such
wonderful harvest weather!

We started on Thursday with Verniotte and as usual I had my picking
crew over from England, consisting of friends and family who have helped me out most years. They themselves cannot believe the quality and health of the fruit this year. Not one berry with botrytis rot……..not one! Even in the great 2005 we had at least some!

On Saturday I decided to start La Clarière picking at 6am in the morning so we could use the cold fresh nights to get the fruit in as cool as possible to aid our cold maceration in tank. Picking under the stars and then watching a blood red sun come up was incredible. The fruit came in at 10 degrees, which was perfect. We could then keep it there for a week and pump over to extract colour before fermentation starts, whilst also conserving aromas and freshness.


Each bunch and berry that comes in goes through a complicated array of sorting tables, vibrating tables, escalators and finally gets into the tank in perfect condition. Here people usually sort frantically to remove any rotten or unripe berries before they reach the tank, but this year is so clean that we just stand there and admire these delightful little balls, full of sweet rich flavour. I’m getting a bit excited now!


Sutre came this morning and did his usual tour. He always writes a
report and faxes it through in the afternoon, detailing what to pick
next. In the comments section he simply wrote: “ Belle Vendage,
sanitaire impeccable!” - beautiful havest, impeccable health! Which
pretty much sums it up.

The vineyards have done their bit this year, it’s now up to us to make sure we make a wine that really shows what a wonderful gift mother nature has given us this year!



H