2017 harvest – 19 september

19.9.2017billn

99.9% of the harvesting is now over, only the late finishers of the Côte de Nuits (and maybe Hautes Côtes!) such as Damoy, Ponsot and Grivot seem to be unfinished. Even Marko de Morey finished his harvesting yesterday – surviving a weekend bout of a sore throat and heavy head-cold – so didn’t join us for breakfast on Sunday! The weather wasn’t particularly great at the weekend, but is set fair and quite cool this week – perfect for those who are finishing off.

To confirm previous discussions, wines – red and white – seem to have pHs of about 3.2-3.3 with normal, roughly equal, quantities of tartaric and malic acids this year. This is fine for the reds, if rather more modest (pH) for whites.

I have this in my mailbox from the people at Interbeaujolais – bigging-up their 2017 harvest:

The harvest ends in the Beaujolais, the focus moving from the vineyards to the cellars.
“The highlight of the harvest took place the first fortnight of September an ideal time for the winemaker. 2017 will remain a year strongly influenced by the hazards of the weather. A little spring frost, violent hailstorms in early summer, and fairly widespread drought conditions.

In the areas most affected by water stress a ‘saving’ rain just before the harvest allowed the grapes to recover the freshness that was missing for optimal maturity, allowing the Gamay can express its fruity and aromatic potential. There were no disease pressures in 2017, only a lack of water, the state of health was perfect and the grapes of very high quality – they were concentrated, with a nice acid balance – the thick and firm skins, shot berries and low juice proportions being the guarantors of a good concentration.

The first tastings reveal wines perfectly balanced between acidity, fruit and tannins. The roots had to dig deeper into the soil to feed, and it seems that the remarkable terroirs still express better than usual. While it is still early to qualify precisely, the 2017 vintage looks in any case of great quality. The volumes, as unfortunately in many other French vineyards, will be low.”
Source: Inter Beaujolais Press Office

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