harvest 2004
If at first ... etc. trie, trie & trie again
Just back from 3 days at the triage table, and it was great, good and
oh my god (bad) in terms of the grapes. Where there was hail and rot we were
discarding as much as 25% of what was brought in - and remember that
there was already a 'rough and ready' trie at the vines! Finished the day
with Corton Rognets and these were beautiful grapes, very ripe, very
clean but interestingly with the greenest stems I've seen all week. I
think we did a pretty good job and look forward to tasting the wines as
they develop.
The majority of the grapes are now in, Domaine d'Ardhuy still have their Corton-Charlemagne to harvest, but their reds were done a day or two ago. As good as some reds will doubtless be, the whites could really eclipse the reds this year. Chardonnay is much more robust than Pinot when it comes to hail, it was only the removal of the rot, hence reducing yields, that stopped a really big harvest in whites.
I really enjoyed my harvest action and have the black fingers to show for 6 tonnes of pinot noir triaged! It's only when you see the grapes come in that see how much chardonnay and pinot gris are still in the vineyard - of course officially none of that goes into the wine ;-)
Bill
The majority of the grapes are now in, Domaine d'Ardhuy still have their Corton-Charlemagne to harvest, but their reds were done a day or two ago. As good as some reds will doubtless be, the whites could really eclipse the reds this year. Chardonnay is much more robust than Pinot when it comes to hail, it was only the removal of the rot, hence reducing yields, that stopped a really big harvest in whites.
I really enjoyed my harvest action and have the black fingers to show for 6 tonnes of pinot noir triaged! It's only when you see the grapes come in that see how much chardonnay and pinot gris are still in the vineyard - of course officially none of that goes into the wine ;-)
Bill
Action packed day... a little work at Domaine pumping down wine and
then off to visit some marquis sites in the Cote de Beaune. It was the
prettiest day yet, so photo opps at the vineyards such as Montrachet
and Genevrieres were perfect. While taking a few photos of the
Montrachet vineyards, we exchanged pleasantries with a woman harvesting
grapes with her crew in "Caillerets," a Monopole vineyard of Domaine
Chartron. Turns out she is the sister of Chartron and she insisted that
we meet her brother to taste some their wines...OK twist my tongue.
That is one thing that continues to impress me about the people of
Burgundy....their hospitality and kindness even when they are busy.
Thursday was jammed packed with good stuff. We harvested grapes in
Pommard just above "Les Charmots" and then in the afternoon just over
line in Beaune. This was another picture perfect day with cool, dry
weather and sunshine and clouds. The weather for harvest is perfect.
Like I've said before, this is hard work. I worked tractor detail
today... dropping the empty cartons along the rows and then coming back
to put them on the tractor after they are filled. It is truly amazing
how quickly a vineyard can be harvested with a good group of people. In
addition to having fun, these folks know the meaning of teamwork. We
knocked out an entire vineyard before lunch. And we had the red wine
stained hands to prove it.
Seems like September has potentially saved the vintage - yet again! Many
were the trials and tribulations of this year's growing season, the
harvest looked a bleak prospect only 4 or 5 weeks ago but a month with
virtually no rain seems to have saved the day. The grapes are of course
very heterogenous, no surprise given the hail and rot which dogged the
vintage but in the end it comes down to the trie. Today I joined in
the triage of a Latricières, Charmes and a few villages wines; some
were much better than other as could be judged by the speed of the
table and the amount of fruit being discarded. Rubbish in, rubbish out
is the old saying, I think we did a good job of sending out the rubbish
first! Tomorrow we tackle Santenay, Beaune 1er and Chambertin.
Sorry for the corny title, but that's what happens after picking a few
grapes and tasting some wine, especially Gevrey-Chambertin. Today
started with a little work in the vineyards of Beaune followed by a day
being a tourist. We checked out the Hospice de Beaune, Clos Vougeot,
& the Market in Beaune. A little shopping in Beaune followed by a
visit to a few Domaines. It was a fun day of good tasting and learning.
It's just after Lunch and we have already had a full day. And Lunch is
no fast food dive here...They go all out. More food than you can
possibly eat and just when you can't eat another bite, out comes Le
Fromage. And of course what's a meal without wine. Today's lunch
included a great Chardonnay from Jura. It's early afternoon and boy do
I want a nap. No time for that though, it's back to the vineyards. 
It was a long, fun day today in Pommard; The weather is right for
picking as it is overcast, cool, and no rain. This is good news for
some folks as August weather was not too kind to those in some villages
as they were hammered by periods of hail. Villages of
Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey St. Denis, Pommard, and Volnay experienced
some severe hail that damaged a few of the vineyards causing rot in on
some of the vines. Interesting though, was the randomness of the hail.
Not only did some villages experience little or no hail, some
vineyards had experienced hail only in small portions. this was the
case for example in Clos Vougeot. I spoke with Chantal Tortochot
yesterday as we helped her sort grapes. "The lower portion of Clos
Vougeot", & she said, "received heavy portions, while the upper
level received no hail at all". She went on to say that even with the
damage they are harvesting some great