Midway harvest review

Almost all the whites have been brought in. We just have a few vines of Prueras, Blanc Vert and Blanc Auba left, three late-ripening historical grape varieties that we are going to leave to ripen for 8–10 days, to understand what they yield when pushing ripeness (particularly the Blanc Auba). We have a fine harvest of whites: in moderate quantities (35 hl/ha compared to the 58 hl/ha permitted in Graves), and very healthy in terms of quality. We were able to isolate our finest terroirs (Peyron, Peyrous and Bouché) to carry out fermentations in amphorae and barrels. These batches will be used to craft our parcel-selection cuvées and our Grand Vin Blanc. The harvest took place between 26 August and 7 September. Alcohol levels remained reasonable, with the finest lots around 13% ABV. The pH levels are good; between 3.4 and 3.5, which matches the profile we look for (ripe grapes, without excess). Fermentations went very smoothly, with virtually no residual sugar left. We just need to finish fermentations on the final harvested batches. In terms of cuvées, we will be able to have some fun this year: in addition to the cuvées mentioned above, we will offer you a Pet-Nat made from Sémillon, a skin-contact/maceration wine from a blend of Sauvignon and Sémillon, and fruit-forward single-varietal wines (Sauvignon and Sémillon) on which we took a few winemaking liberties. For the reds, we hesitated over starting the Merlot at the end of this week, but decided to wait. We are hoping for a little rain which could help soften the tannins, but the weather is fickle, so nothing is guaranteed on that front. We are doing a full tour tomorrow to determine which block to bring in on which day. As for the forgotten grape varieties, we feel like excited children. Tasting for the first time varieties that, for some of them, have not been tasted in a century. On Friday, we carried out an analysis of each variety on each block (around twenty samples!). The results are very surprising. Some varieties shut down completely due to water stress, while others remained unfazed, showing balanced alcohol and acidity levels. Varieties deemed weak in the 19th century are already giving us 13% ABV with malic acid at 2. I am talking here about Penouille, which historical literature describes as 'soft, flat, uninteresting'. Harvesting is going to be a balancing act: trying to pick each grape variety on the right date, in order to carry out micro-vinifications that will be full of insights. In any case, once again this year, Mancin is revealing all its organoleptic qualities, as well as stunning balance between alcohol and acidity. We should harvest it towards late September, and it will certainly be part of the blend for our flagship cuvée: Comme en 1900. More to follow. Pictured: a bunch of Castets, a variety that behaves very differently depending on the plot, but which overall struggled with the heat and water stress.