We picked all our Merlot this week, so we’ve just got our Cabernet to go and that’ll be that. More on the red harvest at Bauduc in next week’s missive, suffice to say that we’ve been lucky with the weather. It’s been dry and sunny until yesterday afternoon, which is good for bringing in the grapes and, of course, for taking photos. It’s also unusual to have all the children at home at this time of year, so it’s only fair that we put together a gratuitous family album. Keep reading
Category Archives: Chateau Bauduc
At long last, we’ve made it: September review
September 30 2016
No, we haven’t hit the big time but, at the 18th attempt, we’ve finally notched up the maximum annual quota of white that we’re allowed to produce under the strict Appellation Contrôlée rules. To be fair, we haven’t actually made the wine as yet since we’ve only just finished harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon this week; the fermenting, freshly pressed juice is lovely however and we’ll do our best with it, naturally.
Rosé at dawn – in pictures
September 27 2016
We’ve been harvesting every morning for six days in the trot, starting at a ridiculously early time before the sun comes up. The days have been dry and sunny since a heavy downpour in the middle of the month. Sandwiched in between the Sauvignon and the Semillon since then, we harvested some Merlot for our rosé at sparrow’s fart last Sunday.
Now you see them… high yields on Merlot are great for rosé – lower sugar (and therefore alcohol) and fresh acidity. #bdx16 #bordeauxwines pic.twitter.com/YSPrxHTQ1q
— Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney) September 25, 2016
We choose to harvest the bunches from this high yielding block earlier than we would do for red, as the acidity needs to be racier and we want less sugar – and therefore alcohol. Keep reading
Chateau Bauduc – harvesting in the dark, with pics
September 23 2016
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Another weekly update on what’s happening at Bauduc doesn’t really rank up there with Bake Off and Brangelina but we thought we’d keep you up to date with our harvest news and the latest photo album.
After last week’s hand picking, this was ’harvesting in the dark’ week. There are a few reasons for picking Sauvignon Blanc by machine before dawn. Firstly, the grapes and the juice come in nice and chilly, with less risk of oxidation. Secondly, the other chateaux who hire our man Guy and his machines rarely start before 8am, so we can usually make up our minds about what to harvest at the last minute. (Guy, you see, is from the Charente and he’s that rare sort of Frenchman who wants to bill for as many hours as possible.) Keep reading
Chateau Bauduc – the start of the harvest, by hand
September 16 2016
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. Keep reading
Bone dry since Brexit – August review
August 31 2016
We’ve had an extraordinary Summer. It’s been sunny and hot at times, especially in mid-July and the second half of August – it’s 30°C as we write this and took the photo this morning – but it has been incredibly dry.
A pleasant surprise – July review
July 29 2016
For this month’s review we thought we’d update you on how the vines are shaping up. Before doing so, fans of our white should be aware that we’ve had to restrict any orders now to just 12 bottles of our delicious Sauvignon Blanc 2015. As reported last month, we’re running very low. There’s still a fair amount of our equally delicious 2015 rosé though, despite Rick Stein’s lovely restaurants piling through masses of it. Keep reading
Pass the Tippex – June review
June 30 2016
This month has all been about passports.
I couldn’t find mine on the 1st of June and duly missed my flight to England. As I was due to host a dinner for 60 customers in London, it was a huge relief that the British Consulate in Bordeaux could supply an Emergency Passport (who knew?) just before the last available flight to Gatwick. Keep reading
May Review
May 27 2016
- One reason why wine lovers might vote to stay in the EU
- Bauduc dinners at 67 Pall Mall
- Sparkling Bauduc in pictures
- Bordeaux en primeur – still ’in the doldrums’?
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Bordeaux 2016 – vines in May compared to previous years
May 25 2016
23 May 2016 – a little later than 2015 but reasonable for the time of year
I’ve taken a picture of the vineyard in front of the chateau on the 23rd May each year. The date has no special significance – it just happened that way – and the pictures are as much for my records as anything else. They provide a useful comparison as to how these Merlot vines have advanced since budburst at the beginning of April. It’s always shortly before the important flowering. Keep reading