harvest 2009 – wednesday 16th sept

Update 19.9.2009(17.9.2009)billn

home_team
The home team 2009: Gareth, Gillian, Marie, David & Shane (Joseph is missing, he was working away from the cuverie)

After the exertions of the Duvault-Blochet the night before (and it turns out the sauce was actually based on Nuits St.Georges!) it comes as something of a shock to be greeted by early morning skies that are far from blue – in fact they are leaden. At least they are retaining their moisture and the streets are now largely dry.

I arrive at the home domaine to find that our planned picking of the Vosne is delayed to the next day due to the rain and cold of yesterday – the rain stopped in the early hours – but at least we have some breeze that’s slowly drying the place. We are still waiting for grapes from both extremities of the Côtes – Gevrey grand crus plus Santenay and Maranges. The grapes sound absolutely perfect in the south, but I’ve no info yet on the Gevrey ‘big boys’. Okay there’s still much to do before lunch…

Lunch is a busy affair (oops, inappropriate word – but our chef has anyway returned!); a tasty ‘salad’ of chopped potatoes, sausage, beans etc., followed by ribs done in a dark and tasty honey glaze, the ubiquitous cheese and bread followed by up-side-down pineapple sponge. Clearly that needed washing down with a combination of Vosne, Cazetiers, Combe-Aux-Moines, Vaucrains and Chapelle from 2007! We contemplate a delivery from Gevrey over our coffee – it should arrive sometime in the late afternoon. I decide to ’embrace’ our chef on our last day – he comments that at least I shaved, my wife too 😉

I pack my bags and make a quick tour as I head for home – a quick visit to Maison Nicolas Potel but they are quite busy with a TV crew from Hong-Kong TV who are filming their triage. Next to Morey, first to see Kellen Lignier – she only has her aligoté to bring in which she will do tomorrow (Thursday) morning – she looks very satisfied, and has decided to bottle her Combottes only in magnums! Next to Domaine David Clark – he’s chatting to his Dutch importer and Jan van Roekel. He’s already brough in some perfect Vosne villages and is waiting for the weekend for his Côte de Nuits and Bourgogne. The Morey also waits on the vines but it’s only a tiny parcel so he has the luxury of waiting for ‘perfection’. He’s also very happy with what he’s so-far harvested.

Vicki Fourrier tells me that Domaine Fourrier are starting their harvest campaign tomorrow (Thursday) and will pass on more info as they see what goes into their tanks.

In the late-afternoon the home domaine grapes arrive from, Gevrey and in very good shape. The plan is now to get everything in by Friday as the forecast is rain for Thursday and maybe storms – thunder and lightening – at the weekend. Muddy boots and wet grapes or not, it looks like a spin of the roulette wheel for those planning to pick at the weekend or beyond.

And that’s it for first-hand reports I’m sad to say – of-course it won’t end here…

PS – Vincent Dancer reminds us what it’s all about with – jus!

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