Our wines

L’automne puis l’hiver ont été particulièrement secs (on observait déjà un déficit de 35% en eau), assez doux, le mois de février a même été plutôt chaud (2,2 degrés au-dessus des normales saisonnière). Cette douceur hivernale, responsable d’un débourrement précoce fin mars, a eu cette année encore des conséquences dramatiques, provoquées par le gel de printemps (du 2 au 5 avril). Ce gel fut assez précoce dans la saison, et les contre-bourgeons se sont développés rapidement. Même si ces bourgeons secondaires sont moins fertiles et que cela signifie souvent une baisse de volume, le cycle végétatif a néanmoins démarré de façon décalée, mais favorisé par la belle arrière-saison que nous avons eue finalement. Difficile en effet de ne pas avoir remarqué les épisodes climatiques répétés en juin, juillet puis août, avec des températures très élevées, jusqu’à quatre degrés au-dessus des normales, et plusieurs jours d’affilée. La véraison a lieu entre le 8 et le 10 juillet pour les plus précoces (jeunes vignes à Pomerol, Graves de Pessac), mais plus généralement fin juillet. Les contrôles de maturité répétés début août mettent en évidence une chute rapide (plus de 50%) de l’acidité totale et surtout de l’acide malique donnant aux vins un caractère éclatant et vif. Pour les rouges, il faut d’abord dire que les vendanges 2022 se sont conduites dans des conditions extrêmement agréables, sans stress. On a pris le temps de ramasser à la carte, au gré des décalages de maturité, puisque la météo très clémente le permettait. Début septembre, on avait encore parfois d’importants décalages entre la maturité technologique (qui était là), polyphénolique (qu’on a tardé davantage à obtenir) et aromatique). En revanche, l’extractibilité et la qualité des tanins n’étaient pas optimales alors que les raisins étaient déjà riches en sucres et que les valeurs en acidité totale, acide malique et tartrique indiquaient de bons équilibres. Il a donc fallu adapter les stratégies de ramassage aux terroirs et organiser les séquences de ramassage pour récolter des raisins parfaits.Dans cette période cruciale, on pistait l’évolution des équilibres entre l’alcool qui montait et les peaux qui pouvaient encore rester dures. La météo continuait d’être souriante, on n’a pas eu de pluie, pas de pression, rien ne semblait indiquer qu’il fallait ramasser ; cette année, on a vraiment dû pousser les vignerons à vendanger ! Cette année plus encore, il ne fallait pas aller trop loin en vinification : ne pas trop extraire, se mesurer et se retenir ; à ce titre, on a joué une course de fond cette année, pas un sprint ! Les temps, les températures de macération ont été adaptés en fonction des éventuels blocages de la plante, de l’âge des vignes, etc. La dégustation tout au long des macérations a été capitale pour ajuster au mieux le travail des vins et pour rechercher les meilleurs équilibres. Il est important de prendre en compte les équilibres entre l’alcool, le pH, l’acidité totale et bien sur la richesse en composés phénoliques pour comprendre que 2022 n’est pas un millésime caricatural mais de façon surprenante bien équilibré. Les rouges sont des vins riches, denses, avec une certaine puissance et une réelle onctuosité, mais sans lourdeur, comme l’étaient parfois les millésimes solaires d’autrefois. En 2022, on a cherché à conserver la tenue et l’acidité, l’aromatique plutôt fraîche et éclatante qu’on avait au moment de la récolte. On est restés vigilants au moment des vinifications, on n’a pas voulu déséquilibrer les vins qui avaient une acidité naturelle, on a prolongé les macérations pour trouver le charme, on a construit une trame et une texture de milieu de bouche pour contrebalancer des alcools parfois plus élevés. 2022 est un grand millésime de Bordeaux taillé pour la garde, avec un équilibre bien bordelais que les amoureux des vins de Bordeaux aiment tant !

2019, an unpredictable vintage After a fresh and humid January, temperatures increased in February and March, with unusual dry and warm days. April and May have seen few days arounf 0°C leading to some frost on the plots near the woods. Early June, the increase of temperature allow the vines to blossom followed by a very hot summer, with peaks at 40°C. The big difference in temperatures in September between days and nights (12°C at night, 26°C during the day) has been good for the grapes. Harvest has started mi-september, under a beautiful sky and warm temperatures. Merlots were ripped and tasty. End of September, the cooler and cloudy weather has lead to a decrease of the potential alcohol degrees and allow Cabernets Francs to reach a perfcet maturity. Second part of the harvest has been done early October for the lastest Merlot and finished mid-ocotber with the last Cabernet Franc.

The winter 16/17 is historically dry. The first rain being in February. December and January were cold and dry and the humidity in February and March did not allow to compensate the lack of rain. Consequently, soils were very dry and the first strong sun of the Spring allow the vines to evoluate quickly. Blossoms arrived end of March and the growth has been very fast afterwards. Unfortunattelly the frost arrived during the night of April 20 and then April 28.The heat is present during all the month of Mai. Juin is beautiful with very hight temperatures and few big rain, avoiding lack of water in the soils. July will be more complicated with humidity and less sun, which will only come back in the beginning of August, but not for long. The month will be cooler than usual and hight temperatures will only be back at the end of the month. September will be also cloudy, this lack of sun resulting in wine with high acidity.

This winter brought serious concerns to all winemakers, their anxiety growing as the first buds in cotton started being noticeable since the beginning of February. Happily, the low temperatures of March and water-soaked soils brought back more energy to vineyards, causing the buds to become stronger. Despite on this little progress, a true coolness of April slowed down the growth of vineyard and we had a small catastrophe between 28Th and 30th of April, with serious frosts settling upon the vineyard, but we were still able to avoid a total loss of future harvest.The level of precipitation in May was truly high, bringing along the pressure of mildiou, that at this time reached a record peak. Several winemakers were worried if their vines would be able to obtain clean flowering. It happened almost like a miracle around 10th of June, the weather became marvelous, a true gift for winemakers, due to its homogeneous character lasting for about four days. What everyone wished for, sun and dry days, finally came true. July was hot and dry with some peaks of temperatures reaching beyond 35*C, but winemakers remain optimistic, as the water reserves are sufficient to make it through this heat. The September`s storms brought to our vineyard a true salvation and allowed it to have a well-deserved rest. Harvesting beginning slowly in the first days of autumn. This is to say, the vintage 2016 offers wines with delightful aromas, strongly identifiable, yet subtle tannins.

The winter turned out to be rather cold, marked by several nocturnal frosts, several grey and damp days from November to February, and long weeks of rains in winter. Needless to say, that water reserves were well reconstituted, but the situation was reversed in March for a dry, but still cold weather, continuously pushing back the blossoming of buds. It happened to be necessary to await until the first days of April to come to finally notice the awakening of the vegetation. . In May, the weather conditions provided rapid and regular growth.The second part of the month, although being a little cooler, brought no rain. During the first 10 days June, reasonable temperatures as well as the absence of any precipitation gave place to a rapid flowering, grouped, without too much sagging of the branches or berries falling off them. A walk in the vines, at that time, would be filled with aromas of vine flower, the crops reassured us showing a very well balanced in quantity, clusters being rather small and full sized. In most cases, there would be little to touch up in terms of leaves thinning. Summer was dry, not a drop of water since the middle of June. From the end of July, it was clear that the vegetation stop would be clean and frank, that the sun would have already burned acidity, equally putting an end to the idea of vegetable aromas in the grapes. This vintage looked solar, any idea of ​​preserving the freshness was extremely welcome, as well as when those in regards of managing the soil work, scratching, reflection on the need to trimming, everything was important. The weight of the berries was important. While searching for maturity, it was just as much important find the concentration in the berries. We were impatiently waiting for the beautiful September and the finish of great vintage.The fruits were ripe, slightly acidic and easy to taste. The drought of July alone could have burned the acids and the plant while the moderation of the month of August provide the ​​freshness and classicism. No hardness, no exoticism, perfect extractability of the skins, making us so grateful to have these terroirs, to have the luxury of being able to conduct smooth vinifications, to reveal wines identity and its contemporary character.

Après un bel hiver d’une douceur exceptionnelle, ne comptant que quelques jours de gelée, les premiers rayons de soleil d’avril provoquent un débourrement de la vigne rapide et homogène. On compte alors deux bonnes semaines d’avance. Après la présentation morose du millésime 2013, c’est rassurant. Le climat est orageux, avec des précipitations fréquentes, peu intenses, mais régulières. Les températures se rafraîchissent dès la deuxième partie du mois, ce qui a pour effet de mettre un frein considérable à la vigueur de la pousse. L’avance sur le cycle se restreint. La météo du mois de mai garde un profil orageux et les pluies restent fréquentes. Il n’est pas simple de protéger le vignoble, de trouver l’opportunité de rentrer, alors que les traitements sont vite lessivés. Les sols, où poussent les herbes adventices que l’hiver n’a pas pu détruire, ont de la difficulté à se ressuyer après les pluies fréquentes, surtout les plus argileux. L’activité photosynthétique manque un peu d’énergie, le feuillage est un peu terne. L’inquiétude monte alors à mesure que la floraison approche. On a besoin de chaleur. Sur les secteurs précoces, on observe les premières fleurs dans les derniers jours du mois. En aout, ambiance fraîche et orageuse, le millésime appelle encore à la vigilance. Bien des feuillages en feront les frais, se laissant envahir par un « mildiou mosaïque » assez virulent. Bien des sols, qu’il ne faudrait plus toucher, sont trop sales pour tenir jusqu’aux vendanges. L’année du vigneron se dessine, s’imprime dans le paysage. Quelques parcelles s’affichent telles des verrues dans une architecture viticole marquée par le savoir-faire des vignerons. Une image de satisfaction, un vignoble en place malgré la contrainte. En fin de mois, alors que la véraison s’achève, les raisins gonflent, gorgés d’eau. Dans nombre de parcelles, le travail est à refaire, à peaufiner. Il faut couper des grappes, affiner les effeuillages. Le soleil s’installe de manière franche, la dernière ligne droite sera longue et difficile. Alors qu’on n’y croyait plus, les beaux jours s’enchaînent en Septembre, puis les belles semaines, laissant enfin un sentiment d’éternité. Le bilan est pourtant lourd, le poids des raisins pulvérise celui de la moyenne décennale. Les analyses de moût du début de mois laissent apparaître une situation plus mauvaise qu’en 2013. Il va falloir tenir, attendre et compter sur le maintien du beau temps.C’est une maturité d’automne, elle ne se fera pas par le soleil. Le temps, l’alternance de nuits fraîches et de jours ensoleillés ont un rôle essentiel sur l’attendrissement des peaux. Elles se dilatent, se rétractent sans cesse. Elles se tannent. Plus que jamais, l’opportunité de la créativité pour organiser la vendange s’est présentée cette année. Nombre de domaines, qui nécessitent 10 jours pour vendanger, prirent un mois afin de rentrer chaque parcelle sous la maturité optimum, ou choisie. Les premiers merlots tombèrent vers le 20 septembre alors que les derniers cabernets quittèrent leur ceps dans les tout derniers jours d’octobre.

After a mild and humid winter, the arrival of spring, although slow, allows an explosion of vegetation and the vines developp in a regular manner. All the buds explode at the same time, inviting to make the first prognoses: it is a fruity vintage, becoming a true gift after two vintages marked by little productivity. We will cut ceveral grapes, and even too many, according to some the opinions.In May, temperatures remain low throughout the month and slow down the growth.Regular rains and persistent cold do not allow the soil to warm up, especially to clayish part of it. It is in the second half of May that symptoms of cold manifest themselves. The tendancy is not changing in June : the cold remaining throughout the month. It is under these fairly dramatic conditions that flowering begins. Very long on the Merlot variety, a little shorter on the Cabernets, the expulsion of flower caps stretches over two weeks offering a fabulous possibility for botrytis intrusion, as this period is the most sensitive. The summery of this 1st of July is depressing. It is already known that the harvest will be small, and the vine is three weeks behind its vegetative cycle. It is enormous. Luckily, the heat settled permanently and gave back hope to the winemakers. The warm and dry days are all linked throughout the month and give a sense of eternity. We now manage to catch up on the delay. July becomes the warmest month of the past twenty years . The month of August was rather beautiful. The average temperature was not so bad, especially considering the nocturnal freshness. Doubtlessly, the cold nights have slowed down the advances of maturity, but as for its aromatic consistansy, we could not ask for more, as these temperature amplitudes contribute greatly to the complexity of the wine. The beginning o ripening (veraison) starts slowly and stretches in the same way as flowering did earlier over the spring. It will therefore often be necessary to have a tour around the vines in order to check on the homogeneity of the ripening maturity. On average, the grape harvest should have begun around 7th October for the merlots and we could hope for a beautiful late vintage, as those of 2008 or 2011. Well-prepared vines, with broad raisins could perfectly go to its end, to its perfect maturity.

Fresh, wet spring causes a rather late bud break. Until July, rain and humidity in the remain constant. These conditions encourage us to keep the seeds sown in the autumn of 2011. These same conditions allow us to limit the erosion of the soil, to guarantee the lift needed to pass the tools and avoid the excessive vigor. Root work is partcularly beneficial in the spring when their growth is the strongest. Only the very weak parts of the vineyard, which need to be stimulated (eg the top of the plateau), are plowed already in the spring. The frost strikes the Cabernet Francs and the lower parts of the domain close to the wood. The harvest is already promising to be limited in volume in these areas which are already delayed in their cycle. Disbuffing allows to correct the excess of growth and weight, and are done fairly quickly. Lifting requires some extra effort this year as the vine keeps on growing. The summer settles after a somewhat difficult flowering, marked by a significant but reasonable mildiou. Flowering takes about 15 to 20 days. In terms of maturity it is as much heterogenical from one grape to the other. Therefore, we decide to intervene in « green » only when it comes to the presentation of harvest at first, putting an accent on the ventilation (leaf removal and suppression of harvest piles). We will wait until the end of the ripening to remove all the delayed grapes. This is now the only way to obtain a harvest with homogeneous maturity. It will be necessary to pass through the vines over and over again until the end of August to remove all the grapes that will have blossomed late. The terroir of Clarisse is rather cold. Clays retain water and delay maturity of grapes. The rains of mid-September leave us fearing the botrytis, but luckily the work of harvest presentation, soil maintenance and leaf removal do not allow its installation. The skins are thick, the maturity requires time, it is an autumn vintage and must be harvested late.

The year of 2011 will remain in the memories as a generally complicated vintage. We needed to have a bit of clay to make it work through the spring but not too much over the autumn. A vintage that rewards those who have had a good soil management for a long time beforehand, growing vines marked by strong and deep roots. The prophylaxis was sometimes more important than the load, which had to be adapted to the cycle and the quality of the foliage. The cellars had to be well equipped with sorting equipment, in the light of the vintage that could offer a lot of dry grains, wilted grains as well as rotten ones. Working with this vintage, the winemaker also had to consider the fragility of his grapes in order to adapt his vinification in regards of extraction.

The deep red hue, the ruby tints, the density and depth of the colour testify to the full maturity of the fruit. The “in-glass” odor confirms a very dark aromatic palette (huckleberry, dewberry, blackberry) that evolves when swirled towards spicy notes (paprika) and jus de viande. The colour and nose reflect this ‘solar’ vintage : the summer heat has provided a fully mature fruit. The wine is black, but fresh. The nose is not dominated by alcohol, and not tainted with tiring kirsch and jam notes, as is sometimes the case with very hot vintages. The spherical-contoured mouth reveals a wide attack, powerful and agreeably fresh. This freshness is expressed in a complex aromatic scale (raspberry, black cherry), combined with the notes stemming from the maturing. The balance comes from a deep acidity that harmonizes the tannic intensity, inherent to these soils, and stretches the wine towards a saline and mineral finish. The mouth is drawn by these more or less deep clayey soils. Merlots, on these soils, draw the skeleton of the wine by giving it breadth and intensity. The shape of the wine is spherical and indicates a good maturity, a powerful but coated tannic structure, and the finish ends on a chalky hint conferred by the limestone. This finish expresses a soil, a typicality specific to the area. With regards to the wood, we look for a particular type of barrique/barrel. We favour fine and tight grains and avoid at all costs long and intense aromatizing toasting. By doing so, we obtain a medium that structures the mouth, the skeleton, but also preserves the integrity of the fruit. Our objectives in the vineyard are therefore to stimulate the mechanisms that allow rots to grow deep in order to try and express through the limestone the freshness and the typicality of the area.