2011 Loire vintage: Chinon and Bourgueil (20th September)

Generous bunch of Cabernet Franc in a Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil vineyard on the gravel

Despite some rain in September the Cabernet Franc looks for the moment to be resisting rot in Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Picking is at different stages in the three appellations. The vineyards on the gravel and sandy flats of Saint-Nicolas have now been largely picked often by machine. Despite reports of rot in these vineyards the grapes that remained looked healthy and there appeared by be very little rot about. Bourgueil is now underway – some started at the end of last week while others waited until Monday. In Chinon some have started on the reds, while others like Baudry-Dutour and Couly-Dutheil are picking for rosé this week and will start on the reds at the beginning of next week. Others, like Nicolas Grosbois and Bertrand Couly, are picking the reds now. 

For the white Chinon, Baudry-Dutour have picked their domaine white but waiting to pick for their barrel fermented Chinon Blanc. Couly-Dutheil are picking their most fragile parcels of Chenin.  

 Chenin Blanc@Couly-Dutheil (above and below)

 Reasonably nobly rotten

 Less noble 

Trailer of Chenin

2011 Loire vintage: start of the vendange in Chinon – Nicolas Grosbois

Vendanges 2011: c'est parti pour Nicolas Grosbois (Panzoult, AC Chinon) – above and below

The first visit we made in Chinon was to Nicolas Grosbois on the western edge of Panzoult. Nicolas has started early – last Saturday. Grapes were coming in at 12.5-12.8% potential with an acidity of 4.2 and a ph of 3.3. 

Nicolas: "We started last Saturday. 2011 is not an easy year as the flowering was extended over a long time, so there is variable ripeness – some mauve berries amongst the black grapes. Because of the rain we have 15% more juice than last year. I think the resulting wines will be relatively light – easy drinking, vin des copains", although there may be a few more structured cuvées from the terres blanches vineyards."

Tasting the 2011 juice suggested that the resulting wines are likely to be light.

  

Bunch of 2011 Cabernet Franc@Domaine Grosbois: well aerated bunch

Group of the Grosbois' pickers

2011 Loire vintage: Bourgueil: couple of videos from Lamé Delisle Boucard

Philippe Boucard

Couple of videos here from Lamé:  

Tasting the 2011 Cabernet Franc grapes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFMkuuct-mA&feature=player_embedded 

Dealing with grapillons (unripe third generation grapes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIksldxnteo&NR=1

2011 Loire vintage: a couple of photos – Montlouis and Vouvray

 An appreciative spider on a bunch of Chenin Blanc@Vouvray

Vin O Naturel: Do Lise and Bertrand Jousset (Montlouis) have Irish connections? 

2011 Loire vintage: Saturday picking 17th September

During the harvest in Touraine, weekend picking of small parcels of vines is often done by family and friends. Yesterday I passed a vineyard between Epeigné-les-Bois and Francueil where my guess is that this was a case of family and friends getting together for the 2011 vendange.

Time for refreshment to the right

Tractor with cagettes (small picking boxes)

2011 Loire vintage: Muscadet harvest photos from Domaine Luneau-Papin

Some photos of the 2011 vintage@Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin kindly sent by Marie Chartier. Understandably she chose shots of the good 2011 grapes with none of the 30% of rotten ones that had to be discarded. See report here.  

 Very special pruning system found only in Le Landreau

 Pickers relaxing in one of the cru vineyards@La Chapelle-Heulin

 A trailer of Melon de Bourgogne

2011 Loire vintage: more news from Muscadet – Jérôme Choblet (Domaine de Herbauges)

Jérome Choblet

It is somewhat frustrating: I should really be out in the Loire seeing the vintage rather than being in London, despite the prospect today of tasting some interesting wines at 'the dirty dozen' tasting.
Unfortunately when CRM and I made our plans for 2011 we assumed that if we returned to the Loire in mid-September we would catch, as usual, much of the vintage. Due to various commitments it hasn't been possible to change our plans. Thankfully we were in Touraine at the end of August so caught the start in the Cher Valley. As it is we are now unlikely to see any of the 2011 harvest in the Pays Nantais, although we hope to catch the end of the vintage in the Central Vineyards.  
So it is good to get news from producers. Here is an update from Jérôme Choblet.

Domaine des Herbauges

Muscadet Côtes de GrandLieu Sur Lie

Bonjour Jim !

C'est parti !!!!

Après un printemps nommé "été", un été plutôt automnal les vendanges ont démarrées sous une météo bien capricieuse…

Depuis le 23 août, les conditions climatiques incertaines et les risques pris par nombre de vignerons (profitant d'un printemps clément, ont préféré s'en remettre à la nature plutôt que de faire minutieusement leur travail) les vendanges ont démarré très (trop) tôt dans le muscadet pour cause d'une dégradation de l'état sanitaire.

De notre côté avec un vignoble bien protégé et surtout un enherbement naturel vieux de plus de 20 ans, la vigueur de nos vignes et donc l'état sanitaire à été parfaitement contrôlé. Début de semaine dernière à la vue que nous étions les seuls à ne pas démarre nos vendanges, nous avons réalisé des test de maturité, lundi 29 août puis jeudi 1er septembre… La maturité n'était pas au rendez vos !

Nous avons passé alors 2 journées complètes avec toute l'équipe à parcourir toutes nos parcelles et Clos afin de déterminer où en était le Botrytis… Après de nombreuses réflexions il nous fallait attendre, beaucoup de stress car pas facile de se dire qu'il faut attendre alors que tous ses voisins ont fini ! Bref nous avons repris cette semaine et excellente surprise apres 4 jour beau temps chaud la maturité à bien avancée, l'état sanitaire est resté très bon et je pense que cette année sera donc une VRAIE année de "Vigneron" professionnel et passionné qui ont tout fait pour leur récolte.

Voilà donc les premières nouvelles, le Fief Guérin sera magnifique et excellent les essais d'hier montre un TAP de 11,5 % pour une AT de 4,7 donc très satisfaisante, la Roche Blanche est elle aussi très belle et bien mure, quand au Château de la Pierre les grains sont bien doré et le soleil des jours à venir va finir de la faire murir parfaitement.

Demain c'est Clos de la sénaigerie, qui approche lui aussi les 11,5 % et pas un grain de pourri !

J'ai déjà félicité l'équipe de Vigne du Domaine qui a fait un travail extraordinaire pour nous amener cette belle vendange à maturité optimum une année comme celle ci, si compliquée !!!

À très bientôt, 

Jérôme CHOBLET

jerome.choblet@domaine-des-herbauges.com 

2011 Loire vintage: Muscadet difficult

Picking@Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin 

I spoke this morning to Marie Chartier (Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin – Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine).

Marie: "We started last Tuesday. So far it has all been hand picking. We have now finished the crus and are on the Butte de la Roche today. I expect that parcels that we hand pick will be finished by Thursday or Friday. Next week will be the young vines which will be picked by machine.

"This really is a year of the vigneron. We have a lot of rot due to the rain during the summer and having to discard about 30% of the crop. Because of the difficult conditions we have hired more pickers this year."

**

Elsewhere flooding in Bourgueil following heavy rain on Saturday (3rd). The local infant school was out of action for the kids returning to class after the holidays yesterday.

The forecast here through to Friday 16th September looks much better with no rain forecast apart from a small amount (4 mm) this Sunday.

2011 Loire vintage: forecast for this week now looking better

Picking in Sancerre in 2009 – Picking due to start today

Fortunately the wet week being forecast earlier by Méteo France by changed considerably for the better. Instead of rain during most of the week, there is some forecast for Wednesday while the other days are now alleged to be dry. Let's hope this latest version proves to be the right one!

2011 Loire vintage: some harvest pictures from the Cher Valley

 Picking machine harvesting Sauvignon Blanc@François Cartier's vineyards in Pouillé

Last Tuesday around Pouillé and Thesée the 2011 harvest was really getting underway with a number of picking machines out as well as teams of pickers. Despite the rain at the end of last week, the fruit was looking really good with considerably less signs of rot than had been apparent in Sancerre and Pouilly the day before. Unfortunately the forecast is not very favourable for the coming week with some rain forecast on most days. Hopefully the weather will turn out to be better than currently forecast.

Sauvignon Blanc@Domaine Joël Delaunay

Picking machine@Domaine Joël Delaunay

Starting to unload Sauvignon Blanc@Domaine Joël Delaunay

Grapes beginning to flow

Full flow

Cabernet Franc?

Côt (?) from one of the very productive clones from 1970s-80s

Pouillé: well spaced out Sauvignon Blanc

2011 vintage: the harvest that makes Le Pin look like Gallo or Blossom Hill!

Our 2011 harvest in its entirety

It is with great pride and pleasure that we present here our entire 2011 harvest from our vines@Epeigné-les-Bois. Picked with due ceremony on Tuesday 30th August – our earliest vintage on record. Such a bijou production (of eating grapes) makes the volume produced by Château le Pin appear industrial... 

Déjà mangé!

Les belles vendanges in Loir-et-Cher!

Claire Roussel, daughter of Catherine – Clos Roche Blanche – picking Sauvignon Blanc for Noëlla Morantin at La Tesnière.

Noëlla Morantin's picking team – end of the mid-afternoon break

Even the staff are pressed into service during vintage time!

Three women busy picking

La patronne mangé ici! (above and below)

The vignerons of Pouillé will be hoping the sign is wrong – they want it to stay dry!

2011 Loire vintage: further news snippets

Bunch of Sauvignon Blanc waiting to be picked at Clos Roche Blanche

I gather that the first estate to start picking in the Cher Valley was Domaine Jacky Marteau, now run by Jacky's son – Rodolphe. They machine harvested on Thursday. It looks like a number of producers will be starting here on Monday including Thierry Delaunay (Domaine Joël Delaunay), who will picking Chardonnay for his sparkling wine. Thierry told me that his Sauvignon Blanc is now at 12.5% potential but with 4.5 acidity.

Thierry Delaunay

Across the valley at Thésée Vincent Ricard will also be starting Monday picking Sauvignon Blanc. Vincent expects to be picking quickly as none of his fruit is below 12% potential with acidities at 5.2/5.3 – higher than at Clos Roche Blanche and Thierry Delaunay.

Vincent Ricard

Elsewhere in Touraine picking for Noble Joué (rosé made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris) can also start on Monday.

2011 Loire vintage: Gamay@La Tesnière (24.8.11)

2011 Gamay@ Clos Roche Blanche's block@La Tesnière

Quick visit yesterday afternoon to a few local vignerons (+ a vigneronne) in the Cher to get an idea of how things are shaping up and when picking is due to start.

Vincent Roussely (Clos Roussely, Angé) was putting in a last afternoon on the paperwork that threatens to submerge many producers. From today it will down to getting everything prepared for the harvest, which Vinent expects will start a week today. He's happy with his Sauvignon: a yield of around 35 hl/ha because of coulure during the flowering with 11.8-12% potential at present.

Vincent Roussely in his office keeping the paperwork at bay

Then we went onto La Tesnière (Pouillé*) to see Noëlla Morantin and Laurent Saillard. Both were very busy getting everything ready to start picking on Monday, although things could change depending on the weather. The Gamay and Chardonnay are currently at 10.5% potential.

On Friday the 2010 Terres Blanches (Chardonnay) and 2010 Chez Charles (Sauvignon) will be bottled making space for the new vintage. Both of the 2010s are looking promising.

Noëlla Morantin

Tomorrow afternoon we will be back in this neighbourhood for the start of the vintage at the Clos Roche Blanche. Unfortunately Friday's weather forecast isn't great – some thundery rain. Hopefully the forecast will be wrong or the pattern will change.

* I'm tempted to start referring to Pouillé-sur-Cher to differentiate it from Pouilly-sur-Loire but this may only add to the confusion.

More Gamay@La Tesnière