Seven Days in a Week
September 27th 2008, by GQ
Saturday morning, 4.30am. While France sleeps, the competition are working.
I used to make the mistake of thinking that we had five days in a week in which we could harvest, from monday to friday. I then worked out that nature doesn’t take the weekend off, so Daniel, Nelly and I now focus on simply getting the timing right. Having not picked since wednesday 17th, the old semillon vines in Les Trois Hectares are ready to go. The grapes taste great, the analysis looks good, and the weather forecast is a worry for the middle of next week - and we’ve got a lot of white grapes out there. Over 13 hectares, in fact, or 33 acres. We could harvest the whole lot in a day but we’d lose the morning freshness.
Cutting Away Unwanted Grapes
September 26th 2008, by GQ
The lovely, dry weather gives us the double benefit of waiting for the grapes to ripen and the chance for us to ditch any bunches which are affected by botrytis or rot before they are picked. As well as Nelly, Daniel and Samira, we’ve got Clementine (right) and Ronan staying with us to help out. This week we’ve been snipping away at the white grapes - the sauvignon blanc and the semillon.
It’s chilly and dry in the mornings, which helps to stop any rot spreading, but jackets are off later in the day.
Dinner with Oz and a Private Book Signing
September 24th 2008, by GQ
Our good friend Oz Clarke came to Bordeaux last night to launch his new book, ‘Bordeaux - the wines, the vineyards, the winemakers’. I’ve got a copy or two of the earlier version, published by Webster’s, but the updated hardback from his new publisher, Anova, is a far more impressive affair. The Bordeaux Wine Bureau (Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux) were handing out free French versions to invited guests, with Oz signing merrily. I took one as a birthday present for Daniel, our vineyard manager, but we can’t decipher what Oz wrote.
In Honour of Didier Dagueneau
September 21st 2008, by GQ
We were saddened to read about the untimely death of Didier Dagueneau, who was killed flying a microlite at the age of 52 last wednesday. ‘Dagueneau was known worldwide as an outspoken and brilliant winemaker’, reported decanter.com.
Many years ago, Angela and I went to see Dagueneau’s artisanal set-up near Pouilly in the Loire, where he had ‘decided to make the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. Not at all pretentious for someone who’s been making wine for two years.’