News from Domaine de Chevalier

Very good surprise with 2012 vintage - S.C. Domaine de Chevalier

VERY GOOD SURPRISE WITH 2012 VINTAGE

Great Dry White.  Very good Red

A rainy spring was welcome after two years of strong drought. Risks of diseases (mildew ….) have been checked with preventive works by a very good technique strategy. A long period of flowering created a serious heterogeneity which was homogenized by precise green works all along July and August.

Finally we had a wonderful summer after an hesitant July but lightly rainy (in terms of quantity). Growing cycle stopped early August. Ripening period (August-October) was fully sunny without any drop of rain.

Such conditions have been excellent to clean the vineyard. We observed high sugar potential and very good acidity (quality of gravely and clayey soils) together with high level of tannins in red skins.

Our 40 ha white vineyard (All properties) have all been handpicked and selected by lots between 12/09 and 5/10. Climatic conditions were perfect and we get sumptuous different lots. Alcoholic fermentation was mainly in barrels. No malolactic. These several sortings gave more than 65 lots. They are all characterized by: aromatic intensity, roundness, freshness, power an vivacity.  Fine lees maturation will increase elegance and complexity. The quantity of different lots permitted us to blend on each property with great precision. Now we are sure of a great dry white vintage 2012.

Our 80 ha red vineyard (all properties) was also handpicked in a short time between 9/10 and 18/10. The difficulty  in 2012 was the lack of homogeneity between technic maturity(sugar-acid) and phenolic maturity(skins): Quality of aromas and tannins are fundamental to success a vintage. We had to be able to wait for optimal ripening to get soft skins. High risk of this late date was grey rot but our vineyards were very clean because of summer preparation work. Finally we have picked rich and ripe fruits with very fine tannins.

We have made two wonderful wines: Pulpy, fruity, fresh, rich, tasty, structured and very fine. In late December the malos were almost completed, another qualitative sign of high-quality red vintage red.The result is more than we could expect.     R.E.

Yields :

50 hl/ha en blanc sec Pessac-Léognan

41 hl/ha en Bordeaux blanc sec

38.5hl/ha en rouge Pessac-Léognan

2012 Harvest at Clos des Lunes

Last spring, we introduced the first vintage of our new white wine born at Clos des Lunes, during the previous fall.

A few weeks ago ended the second harvest: our beautiful terroir benefited in 2012 from favorable weather for white wines.

Video Presentation:

Take a look at cabernets ...Video this morning.

The sun is shining again this morning after a few days watered. The vineyard is healthy. Video taken at 10 : Cabernet in front of the office.

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2012: Power and Freshness

Beginning of the 2012 white wine vintage 

at

 Domaine de Chevalier

 

Report on the first days

of a very good vintage for white wine

Monday, 17 September 2012

We have been through the Sauvignon Blanc vines in several passes since Wednesday 12 September.

Power and freshness

After a first pass to harvest early-ripening grapes, the fruit proved to be tasty, aromatic, and with the sort of beautiful acidity that befits great dry white wines. Reflecting substantial natural concentration, the yield was only 40 hectolitres per hectare.

The weather forecast for the next few days is excellent, and should ripen the remaining grapes beautifully. Maturity has been relatively spread out due to the prolonged flowering period. However, the way we harvest is ideally suited to this situation. Our experienced pickers and their supervisors undertake several passes, exclusively in the cool of the morning, to pick bunches at peak ripeness. Tastings of the freshly picked fruit and new wine, as well as laboratory analyses, show that that the hopes raised by the beautiful weather in Bordeaux since early August are fully justified. 

We already have a general idea of 2012 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc's flavour profile:  powerful and fresh, but also bright, complex and mineral.

A vintage born under a lucky star

After one of the coldest winters of the past thirty years, spring was very wet and replenished water supplies that might otherwise have been deficient after an historically dry 2012.  While abundant rainfall meant that flowering was spread out, this nevertheless ensured good vine growth.

Summer was rather timid and cool in July, although there was little rain. Then, beautifully sunny weather set in starting in early August. This has virtually lasted nonstop until today and been conducive to rich, sweet grapes. The thermometer reached nearly 40°C form the 17^th to the 19^th of August, and then dropped to more reasonable levels. By this time, there was a big gap between daytime and night-time temperatures. At Chevalier, we very much like slightly cool evenings that enhance acidity and aromatic expression in our white wines. 

This week, we will begin picking the Sémillon...