So, the end is nigh.
The end of the summer holidays that is, at least in France. We’ve had a fabulous July and August, surrounded by family and friends and a host of visitors. And this week we celebrate twenty years at Bauduc, having moved here from London, lock, stock and two small children at the end of August 1999. A glass or two of our new Crémant should do the trick.
“Phew – it’s a scorcher” we wrote at the end of June. And so it continued, right up until last Friday when, mercifully, the thirsty vines received some refreshing rain.
We’ve seen 40 degrees centigrade from time to time across a number of summers, yet it’s rare to hit such sweltering heights in consecutive months – and that’s before we’ve even made it to August.
Phew, it’s a scorcher. After yesterday, when it nudged 40˚C here, it’s calming down to the low to mid thirties today and throughout next week.
Exactly a week ago, it barely reached 20˚C and rained most of the day, and that’s been the pattern for June. Up, down and up again. Rather like our energy levels, as it’s also been a month of entertaining. Roll on the summer hols – oh, hang on…
The end of May, if you’ll forgive the cliché. Whatever next?
June, you say, and a fair amount of sport still. It’s also an important few weeks ahead in the vineyard as the vines have just started flowering, and this unspectacular yet critical period can potentially make or break a wine grower as it plays a huge part in determining the yield. A poor flowering and you won’t get decent bunches.
It’s Bordeaux en primeur time and 2018 is actually a vintage to get quite enthusiastic about. There hasn’t been such a great year since, erm, 2016.
The fine wine world descended on the region earlier in April and, along with thousands from the global trade and scores of journalists and critics, Gavin tasted hundreds of barrel samples.
What a month. 23°C yesterday afternoon here and who’d have thought we’d need refrigerated trucks to transport our stock around in February.
Not really, but we have been busy with shifting the new vintages of our wines. The complete series is available for delivery in the UK.
Sorry to use the ugly b-word in the subject line but we thought we should let you know that we have a plan B and, all being well, this one is deliverable.
‘They are bottling early this year at Château Bauduc’ writes Jon Henley in the Guardian early next week, so our plan isn’t quite so cunning that we have to keep it a secret. We simply aim to get as much of our new wine over to our bonded warehouse near London before the Ides of March, and a considerable stash to our collection point near Calais much sooner.
Duty on wine in the UK goes up tomorrow, 1 February. More on that below but it’s one reason our new season offer will include the option of UK delivery or Calais collection – for those that want to swerve the new UK duty rate of £32 for 12, or more than £40 for a dozen sparkling.
Everything could turn out fine but, just to be sure, we’re getting a wiggle on.
November has been a hectic month, though less so in the vineyard itself. We sometimes forget how beautiful it can be at this time of year, with the golden rows of vines set against the autumn backdrop of the woods.
This month’s exciting review covers the Bordeaux 2018 vintage and how the weather impacted on the harvest. Below is a cutdown version of a longer article that Gavin has just put together for Jancis Robinson’s website and for Liv-ex (the London International Vintners’ Exchange).
This month has seen our twentieth harvest at Bauduc. We took over the grapes that were on the vines when we arrived at the start of September 1999, so we haven’t quite clocked up 20 years, but the 2018 vintage is still a (frightening) milestone. Daniel was already here, and he still has no grey hairs, while Nelly joined us as a trainee. Pictured below, they’ve both put up with us ever since. Meanwhile, Michel, above, and better known as known as Papi, had already retired back then yet he’s volunteered to help in each and every harvest, and at 85 is still going strong. There’s hope for us all yet.
