Vineyard Diary 2007
December 2007
December offered the opportunity to catch up with some much needed maintenace in the vineyard, replacing broken and missing stakes, as well as re-tensioning the training wires along the rows. And then on the 15th, the 3 month task of pruning started for the 2008 season.
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December rainfall |
2007 = 65mm |
2006 = 44mm |
November 2007
Fermentation and maceration of the red grapes continued in November, about 20% shorter than usual as there was not so much "matiere" (substance) as usual due to the average summer. We are delighted that we have made a Rosé again in 2007 and, for the first time, a sparkling Rosé to be ready for September 2008. Transfer of the red wines into barrel occured in the 2nd week of November for the Merlot/Cabernet Franc and the last week for Cabernet Sauvignon.
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November rainfall |
2007 = 28mm |
2006 = 53mm |
October 2007
We started picking our Merlot on 3rd October, only a week later than last year. The summer has not been the sunniest but the burst of good weather in September and now in October is giving us confidence that this will be a good harvest. We have had another two weeks of dry warm and sunny weather in October, just "what the doctor ordered". We continued with picking our top Merlot on the 9th, again less volume but good quality. By the 18th it was time to harvest the Cabernet Franc and we were delighted with both the quality and the quantity, being the same as 2006. We picked our Cabernet Sauvignon on the 26th October, about two weeks later than normal.
We already have the impression that the 2007 vintage will be one of "aroma". The flavours are surprisingly good and the alcohol levels modest.
We have made an effort this year to follow the lunar calendar for our picking dates. Certain days are designated as fruit days and our tasting experience is that the grapes do taste significantly better on fruit days. Only time will tell if the benefit is detectable in the wine.
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October rainfall |
2007 = 24mm |
2006 = 16mm |
September 2007
September has started brilliantly, lots of sunshine and blue skies. If the weather stays like this for another few weeks we will be very happy. Despite it not having been a great summer, the vines are still about on schedule in terms of maturity. This is the most exciting time of the year for us as we anticipate harvesting. Choosing the right date to pick is critical to the quality and still much more of an art than a science. Grapes must be tasted regularly and intuition comes to the fore. After two weeks of glorious weather we started picking our white grapes on the 20th in perfect condition. We have good acidity, balanced alcohol potential and super condition. The volume is down this year compared with 2006 but quality has always been our priority over quantity. We had a bit of rain towards the end of the month but nothing worrying and significantly less than 2006. We are unlikely to start picking our reds until October.
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September rainfall |
2007 = 33mm |
2006 = 150mm |
August 2007
August has been a month of coping. Everyone takes their well deserved holiday (in fact the whole of France more or less shuts down in August) and yet the work continues in the vineyard. The work has mostly been controlling the vegetation, grass cutting and 'relevage', (explained below). We have also been tilling the soil between the rows to control the weeds and aerate the earth. Our last treatment against mildew was completed at the beginning of the month and, "touch wood", we have remained free of rot despite 2007 being a year in which many appellations have been ravaged across France. August was a wet month with overcast skies and not brilliant for holiday makers. But we did benefit from an increase in visitors to the vineyard as wine tasting beat lying around the pool for a change.
We completed a mammoth labelling and case packing run for customers in France, Germany and the USA. Over 14,000 bottles were capsuled, labelled and stacked on pallets, which is a serious challenge for the back ; nearly 19 tonnes of wine handled in 16kg cases. We breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was over!!!
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August rainfall |
2007 = 86mm |
2006 = 61mm |
July 2007
We are delighted to hear that our Quality and Environment certification "Qualenvi" has been approved and we are now certified.! It is challenging to observe the disciplines required but there is no doubt that the improvement in working methods will be evident in the wines.
Work in the vineyard has been mainly 'relevage', lifting vertical the wayward vine fronds that otherwise grow horizontally to meet the row next door and block access between the rows. There is a quality advantage to this (as opposed to cutting off the branches) in terms of additional photosynthesis to mature the grapes. 2007 is proving to be a precocious year in terms of grass growth and weeds so we have done a lot more grass cutting than normal and it is due to continue.
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July rainfall |
2007 = 59mm |
2006 = 98mm |
June 2007
June 1st was a nerve racking start to the month. We have been working for 3 years towards a certification of our quality and environmental practices by "Qualenvi" the organisation run by the Independent Producers Association 'Vignerons Independent'. The external audit lasted the whole morning and tested all our internal documentation. We were relieved at the end of the "test" to only have a few points that needed follow-up and that certification will depend on resolving these as soon as possible.
We are grateful for our contract vineyard service which anticipates health threats to the vines and recommends appropriate treatments against disease. There has been widespread mildew across the whole of France this year but we are still mildew free as a result of early and appropriate treatment. We also have the 'Rolls-Royce' of treatment sprayers which is particularly effective.
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June rainfall |
2007 = 77mm |
2006 = 43mm |
May 2007
The month began with the excitement of bottling the 2005 red wines and the 2006 Rosé and Lady Masburel white wine. It was excititng because the red wines are the best we have made in our ten years at Château Masburel and we can't wait to sell them. We have customers queuing up to take delivery of their "en-primeur purchases. We are also excited about having a Rosé wine to sell, made from our young plants which we harvested for the first time, by hand, in 2006.
We are also delighted with a replacement investment in a rotovator. Our old one finally gave up the ghost and our new one is much better, stronger and more efficient.
At the end of May, the area suffered a hailstorm. At this early stage of the season the damage was limited and the vines are already in the process of recovery. The season so far has been well ahead of schedule with budding and flowering occuring up to three weeks early. We may be looking forward to an early harvest!
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May rainfall |
2007 = 158mm |
2006 = 55mm |
March-April 2007
The long and challenging period of pruning finished thankfully as normal on the 15th March although it was a struggle. We have employed someone to help this year as we have so many more vines to prune and his help has been invaluable. We decided this year to plough between the rows of our Cabernet Franc and our Sauvignon Blanc to give them better natural irrigation. We have the feeling that the vines will benefit from a bit more water in summer. We took the spring opportunity to tidy up the vineyard by collecting all the plastic pouches which we have used to protect the young plants but are now no longer required. The plants are reaching maturity. We have had to cut the grass in the vineyard twice already, it is going to be a precocious year for grass and weeds! And we have given the vineyard a treat this year, some natural fertiliser to enrich the soil.
In the winery we conducted a racking to give the wines a welcome blast of oxygen after sleeping all winter.
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March/April rainfall |
2007 = 85mm |
2006 = 173mm |
January-February 2007
2007, as all years, began with the annual pruning round. With the young plants needing training on the wires, this is a labourious process which seems to go on for ever. We have replanted over one third of the vineyard in the last seven years, at high density between 8000 and 13000 vines per hectare. This is between 2 and 4 times the normal density and it means that in all, we have more than doubled the winter work of pruning. It is worth it though because higher density planting produces higher quality grapes, something to look forward to when the vines are fully mature in a few years time.
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January/February rainfall |
2007 = 199 mm |
2006 = 122mm |
For previous years
Vineyard Diary, click below
2001 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006