Bauduc harvest 2016 – hand picking Sémillon for the sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux
I thought I’d bring you up to date with how the harvest is progressing, week by week, and to send you the latest links to our photo galleries – on Bauduc.com, here on my blog and on Facebook, no less. It is also means that I have yet another excuse (’le marketing’) to avoid cleaning the press.
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon: that’s the normal sequence for harvesting our grapes to make still wines in Bordeaux* because that’s the order in which they ripen, all other things being equal. However, we picked a parcel of Sémillon for our sparkling white wine before anything else, as the juice shouldn’t be too rich in sugar and needs to have bracing acidity.
The bunches to make Crémant de Bordeaux have to be picked manually – by law, would you believe – into stackable crates. And the crates have to have holes in, apparently, unlike the ones we borrowed two years ago (tut tut). The contents of our newly-purchased crates are then tipped into the press for ’whole bunch pressing’. We then clarify the juice and cool-ferment it in a stainless steel cuve. (And yes, we have a formal contrôle next week to make sure we’re obeying the rules.) The second fermentation in bottle – the traditional method, like in Champagne – takes place later.
Each morning was bright and sunny for picking. We did, though, have an almighty scare on Tuesday evening as a huge storm closed in, with the threat of hail festooned across the forecast graphics. As the rain lashed down with strong winds, there was a nerve-jangling, intermittent clatter of hailstones on the west-facing windows, like pebbles striking a tin can, but thankfully nothing worse than that. The vineyard was untouched and we’d escaped, along the rest of Bordeaux as far as we know.
As it turned out, we had more rain that night than in the previous twelve weeks put together. No bad thing after such a dry summer and it also seemed like we’d crossed from Summer to Autumn in one fell swoop. It’s helpful too, especially for our white grapes, that the early morning temperatures have dropped from over 20°C to around 12°C. Bring on the chilly starts for those aromatic, fresh and fruity Sauvignons. The forecast looks positive – dry now, at least.
Onwards and upwards. If you’d like a daily dose of our #bdx16 harvest, do follow Gavin Quinney and Chateau Bauduc on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
*We also have tiny amounts of Sauvignon Gris, Malbec, Carmenère and Petit Verdot, but let’s not over-complicate things.
With this photo gallery, you can tap, touch or click on a photo to enlarge it and for a description, then use the < arrows > to scroll through. Then use the X (top left) to exit.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Nelly and Daniel.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant. Daniel handing out the coffee.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant, in the press.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Sandra with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Nelly with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Nelly with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
First night of the harvest and a storm comes in.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Our Sophie Q with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Our Sophie Q with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Our Sophie with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Some of the team picking Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Couldn’t resist this one. Sophie with Pavie, Daniel on the phone, and a picker sandwiched in the middle.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Our Sophie about to snip Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Daniel with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Our team who work in the vines throughout the growing season: Aly, Sandra, Najia and Jhislaine.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Pavie the hound with Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant in the press.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Nelly with Semillon for our sparkling crémant approaching the press.
Bauduc harvest 2016 – hand picking Some of the team with the Sémillon for our sparkling crémant
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Palmer, Pavie and Margaux.
Bauduc 2016 harvest – hand picked white. Semillon for our sparkling crémant.
