We’ll start harvesting tomorrow. A parcel of sauvignon blanc, new vines which we planted in 2004 on gravel and clay soils, are tasting delicious and aromatic. Sugar levels are high at just over 13% potential alcohol and the acidity has lowered over the last few week to the optimum level. It’s the taste that counts though – and one of the many things I like about sauvignon blanc is that the flavours you find in the grapes are just like those that you’ll find in the wine. Assuming you don’t cock it up, which is easy to do. Keep reading
Category Archives: Chateau Bauduc
Here Comes the Sun
September 15 2008
After a lovely July, a mixed August and a dodgy start to September, we need sunshine. And, mercifully, the forecast looks good. In 2007, September sunshine saved the harvest (as happened in 2002), and although each and every year is different, it looks like the same could be true for 2008. The problem is that this will be a late harvest, and more than likely the latest we’ve seen. We don’t just need sun, we need three to four weeks of it.
We have one parcel which will be ready before all the others – this week in fact – a block of sauvignon blanc vines which we planted in 2004. Keep reading
The Bordeaux Marathon
September 09 2008
We hosted a small team from Gordon Ramsay’s this weekend as they took part in the Médoc marathon on saturday. ‘Taking part’ is an apt expression because it’s more of a stage show or a carnival than a serious race. A glimpse of the 8000 competitors from all over the world, mostly in fancy dress and running through the vineyards of some of the most prestigious estates in the world, is certainly worth a detour.
Stuart Gillies, the chef from Boxwood Café in London, organised the trip as a birthday present for his boss, Chris Hutcheson. Chris is the father of Gordon’s wife Tana, and he runs the Ramsay empire while his son-in-law does his stuff in front of the cameras or in the kitchen. Keep reading
Constant Gardening
September 03 2008
It’s the end of the holidays and the children are back at school. Or, to be more precise, schools, as they are at four different schools this year. Three are in the local town, Créon, while Sophie goes to Carignan a few miles away. Throughout the summer, we try to keep the grounds looking sharp, and the work continues well into the autumn, with no shortage of visitors around harvest time. Our small team are polyvalent, or multi-purpose, so Nellie is equally at home on the lawnmower as she is labelling bottles, packing cases, or racking red wine from one barrel to the next.
Ground Control
August 29 2008
We’re taking advantage of some hot, dry weather before the harvest to rectify a problem underfoot in a parcel of young merlot vines, planted on gravel and clay soils. When we planted them a few years ago, I didn’t realise that a slight incline from right to left would result in deep troughs being carved out by rain water running down the slope, cutting away at the same channel each time it rained. These channels have made it dangerous to drive down the rows with a tractor. So we asked a friend with a ‘minipelle’ to help us sort it out. With Daniel beavering away in the vineyard, I wasn’t going to hire a digger and make a complete hash of it. And it’s very hot. Keep reading
Keeping the Vines in Trim
August 27 2008
The end of August is often thought of as a quieter time in the vines, but with intermittent rain in the last fortnight, we have to be vigilant against the threat of mildew. As I wrote here, the sprayer we bought in 2006 has proved to be a great investment for the three seasons so far, especially in the tricky years of 2007 and 2008.
Daniel, the guvnor, is back from his annuals and is out there trimming the vines. As well as keeping the vines in good shape, it’s a preventative step against mildew when timed correctly. The row on the right has been given a short back and sides, while the row on the left is about to be snipped.
Changing of the Colour: Véraison
August 18 2008
Even though friday was un jour férié, or Bank Holiday, there was work to be done in the vineyard, and on saturday too. Working on a saturday in mid-August doesn’t go down well with the troops, let alone on a Bank Holiday, but the merlot grapes are changing colour from green to red, a process called véraison. And when it’s about a third of the way through, we spray to protect against botrytis or rot, as do most of the top estates in Bordeaux – even if spraying dates don’t feature in the brochure. This was the second preventative measure against rot, the first having taken place during flowering in early June, and the timing can be tricky to judge. As I walked down the rows I thought “that’s 10% veraison”, “that’s 40%”, and so on until at the end of the parcel, I stuck a finger in the air and said, ‘we’ll do this parcel on friday’. And I’d forgotten about the Bank Holiday. Keep reading
In Praise of White Bordeaux
August 07 2008
The UK’s most influential wine critic, Jancis Robinson MW, posted a great article on the ‘subscribers only’ section of her website with the headline ‘In praise of white Bordeaux’ at the beginning of August, following a tasting for British Airways.
“I strongly urge you to take advantage of the revolution in white winemaking in Bordeaux. I know I have said the same about Rhone wines but that doesn’t make it any less true of Bordeaux. If only there were a similar revolution in Burgundy…”
Strong stuff, but as a vinespotter in Bordeaux and not Burgundy, I’m not rushing to complain. Days earlier, Eric Asimov, the New York Times’ wine critic, posted this equally positive piece, entitled ‘A Bordeaux of a different color’, on his excellent blog, The Pour. ‘For good white Bordeaux, 2007 is a superb vintage’. Keep reading
Tributes to Barton & Palmer meets Margaux
August 03 2008
There’s no doubt that the article that generated the biggest response from our snailmail newsletter, La Gazette, was the short, sad piece about the cruel death of Barton, our little Black and Tan Meath Terrier (below). We’ve been very touched by the messages of support which have come from all directions and in all shapes and sizes, including a card from friends in New York with a picture of a dog floating up to the skies on a cloud, and this charming postcard from Barton’s sister Swilly, who lives with Lillian Barton of Chateaux Léoville Barton and Langoa Barton in St-Julien. Swilly signed the card with her paw print. Keep reading
Au Revoir to our Accountant
August 02 2008
Yesterday I had the pleasant task of having to fire our accountant, who we’ve been with since buying the vineyard in 1999. On the way to his new office just off the Bordeaux ringroad, or rocade, I thought about what I was going to say, remembering from previous situations that the opening line is quite important.
My favourite is ‘I don’t know how we’re going to manage without you, but we’re going to give it a try’, which is quite a satisfying line to deliver but it’s a bit glib and disrespectful to the listener. On a different tack a few years ago, when we had to part company with a vineyard worker called Jacques, I had to resort to the only other area of common ground between us, which was football. ‘Jacky’, I said, ‘I’ve given you the yellow card, and now, with regret (a touch of Sir Alan there), I’m afraid it’s the carte rouge‘. I thought of that conversation when Jacky and I bumped into each other again in the local supermarket last week. We talked about vines, and football. Keep reading