A tour in the Côte de Beaune this afternoon. There’s not much red being picked yet – Lafarge was at it, and I saw red grapes being triaged at de Montille – but Pommard and Volnay seemed very sleepy – maybe it’s the weight of all those grapes on the vines! Meursault and Puligny were busier though. I bumped into Francois Bitouzet who was harvesting I assumed Meursault Santenots – but no, it was Les Corbins! He’s very happy with what he’s taken in so far – last year the frost left him only 12 barrels from the combination of two vineyards – this year it’s over 50. Tomorrow he’ll be picking his Meursaults Charmes and Perrières. Talking of Meursault (pictured) I watched a picking machine work in this 1er Cru – in such ideal conditions I feel very unhappy at such an approach – a wine that will retail for at least €40, often double, deserves to be better treated, indeed probably needs to be better wine too!
Then on through Puligny. A brooding sky this afternoon – threatening heavy rain – but apart from a short shower early in the afternoon, just a very fine day for harvesting.
There are 7 responses to “2017 harvest – 01 september”
Bill, agree with your m/c harvesting comment but I see on FB that a number of growers are short of pickers. Is this a downturn in interest in the job or just caused by the timing ?
Are you going up to Corton to see how the new Bonneau regime is going. Their paulee is usually great fun, I wonder how things will be this year…… Perhaps JC is still “handing over”
Thanks for the updates, Bill. They make me wish I were there even more than usual. Will Mark de Morey be posting his annual reports as well?
Jon and Mike
I hope to get to BdM but it won’t be before October to taste 2016s. As for timing, I’m not sure that anything is more than 2 days earlier than people had planned a month ago – but yes, I’ve seen plenty of people looking for extra help this year – I don’t know the base reason – if there is just one – let’s blame Brexit 🙂
Mark de Morey is definitely starting in Morey on the 6th and I’ll be sharing some bottles with him at some stage – I haven’t interrogated him yet as to if he’s the staminia/interest to send his amusing observations again this year – let’s see
Cheers!
Thank you Mike and Bill. Nice to be appreciated. Mike, I’m acutely conscious I didn’t really deliver in full last year hence am focussed on trying to do more this time i.e cover the full harvest as best I can. Maybe I should shorten efforts to get each day covered than longer ramblings over just a few (first) days. We’ll see – I’ll seek to cover the most important elements for us all, not leaving out what humour I can muster/exprience. Mike, if there are any specific areas you or those stateside would like me to cover/address jusy shout up ? Needless to say, much like Bill I guess, am hugely looking forward to my 10th vendange, as much as my first, if not more ! I’m intending to take some Northern English produce for my fellow residents & so far have in mind Black Puddings, Lancashire Tasty Cheese and Lancashire or Cumbria Beer (Bitter) – should be a laugh to see how they are received – payback from the escargots inflicted on me a few years ago ! Filled my car (fuel) yesterday as we have notable UK fuel price rises due any day, blamed on the US hurricane closing refineries – is that the case in France or Suisse Bill ? Looking fwd also to what downtime can manage with Bill & will be selecting some ‘interesting’ bottles today. I’m also due to visit Dujac for a fellow British Burgophile by appointment to collect 4 cases of (not Dujac) wines for UK repatriation – am promised a tasting from Jeremy S but we’ll see. I’ll be mindful how busy everyone is. Also so looking forward to seeing M Raphet again next door when he visits to tend his vegetable garden, hope he’s ok given his age, and have a gift of a little something liquid from Ecosse for him to tickle his taste buds.
Jon/Bill, don’t do FB but I can ‘support’ the harvester comments as I was quite taken aback (first time ever) to be asked by my domaine if I knew of/could recruit any potential harvesters. I don’t know of anyone as everyone who knows me thinks I’m bonkers to do what I do. That includes my 23 yr old daughter, currently between studies once her Masters dissertation goes in tomorrow who, when I gently floated the idea of earning badly needed cash & not needing her make up, gave me a look of the most withering disdain which needed no words. I retreated quickly. The youth of today eh ? Bill is too modest to advise I offered him the opportunity to have the Morey experience maybe after his Beaune exertions but he’s just too much of a home guy 🙂 . Doubt he’d get the Scooby nicked in Morey but who knows ? Parting observation:- I cant ever recall Bill and my respective harvests i.e Cdb & CdN starting so close together – only two days apart this year. Good luck to us all, here’s to a great vendange. Marko
Certainly interested to hear both of your reports from the coalface.
I’m in two minds as to whether I’m hoping for a bit of rain over the next couple of weeks. I’m not sure whether a large mediocre vintage wouldn’t be better for prices than a large good vintage. But for your sake I’ll go with the latter….
Scooby in Charlemagne today 🙂
Looking good Bill & good effort (4 wheel drive ?) to get up there 🙂 . Can we do Scooby & the new H8 MGT in Chambertin or Le Montrachet 😉 ? Perhaps outside the Hotel Montrachet though is more realistic rather than the terroir me thinks 🙂
Ooops, meant to add hope you are having an early night now to be ready for your harvest start with a hearty breakfast tomorrow 😉