BLOG Archives - Vignobles&Compagnie

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September 6, 2020 :

A year in the vineyard: the harvest

THE 2020 VINTAGE…

May 15, 2020 :

A year in the vineyard: ground work

THE GREAT EFFERVESCENCE…

March 6, 2020 :

A year in the vineyard: Pruning

If the vine…

January 2, 2020 :

A year in the vineyard: Dormancy

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY…

September 15, 2019 :

A year in the vineyard: Harvesting period

VENDANGES AND VINIFICATION…

August 27, 2019 :

A year in the vineyard: the maturity

GRAPES MATURITY CHECK:…

July 29, 2019 :

A year in the vineyard : ripening

RIPENING Crucial step…

July 14, 2019 :

#july14th

Happy Bastille day…

June 15, 2019 :

A year in the vineyard : flowering

SILENCE IT GROWS……

RECHERCHE PAR MOTS CLÉS :

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THE 2020 VINTAGE IS UNDERWAY

Extremely early harvest for this 2020 vintage, with the first harvests of our Viogniers at the very end of August. Then in mid-September for our reds ... 2020 therefore never ceases to amaze us.

A complicated year for men, with the international events we know, but also for winegrowers with a nature that has not stopped racing for months. A mild spring, a few welcome rains, a hot summer, an early veraison ... And here we are, harvesting our first grapes at the end of August! An exception that could become a habit if climate change persists for years to come.

The Château des Sources, in the heart of Costières de Nîmes, has therefore not escaped the rule, and it is under a bright sun that the first berries returned to the cellar for the development of this future vintage 2020. To preserve the freshness on the berries, and in the bottle afterwards, we therefore harvest at night the whites but also the reds that will be used for our future rosés (if need be remembered, pink grapes do not exist ;-).

Freshness and fruity are the key words and our teams do not hesitate to get up at dawn to develop gourmet and elegant wines.

The reds: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, waited a little longer to reach perfect maturity. Our teams closely follow the evolution of the berries to reach alcoholic and phenolic maturity in the right balance, which will allow us to best reveal our terroir.

To do this ? Tasting in the rows for each grape variety, each plot. In situ tests supplemented by more detailed laboratory analyzes. When science and know-how complement each other in a quest for excellence ...

The 2020 vintage is underway ... to be continued!

THE GREAT EFFERVESCENCE OF SPRING

Spring 2020 in the Rhône Valley is more than lenient for an accelerated development of the vegetation. As a result, the men are confined, but the vineyard flourishes under the first rays of the sun and the welcome rains at the beginning of May.

Thus, our teams in the field have continued to be active since the start of confinement. Ground word is indeed time-consuming, but constitutes a good alternative to the use of vineyard inputs while respecting the environment and the values promoted by Vignobles & Compagnie. At the Château des Sources we also use it to remove grass from the plots, but also to improve soil properties.

Soil and vineyard work

To the work of the soil are joined the work of the vine as the suckering. It is the great effervescence of spring, with in places almost 15 days ahead of the season. Our teams take great care of the very young plots of the Domaine, which our four-legged roommates love. In 2019, we planted 1ha25 of Grenache noir to complete the blends of our Château des Sources vintages. Very young plants that need a well ventilated, draining, living soil ...

In the field

The various works on our vineyard in Costières de Nîmes during this spring period are therefore:
Epamprage : horticultural operation consisting in ridding the vines of the twigs (also called vines). This helps to promote the ripening of the fruit branches carrying future grapes.

Hoeing: operation which consists in loosening the surface layer of the soil around the vines with a hoe. An action that promotes the penetration of water into the soil. Evaporation of water from the soil is also limited. In fact, hoeing creates conditions that prevent water from rising to the surface and breaking cracks that appear in the soil when it is very dry. The ridging: an operation that protects the vine stock by bringing soil to the feet.

Ferti-irrigation: a simple process that involves direct supply of nutrients to irrigation water to allow them to be rapidly absorbed by crops.

To be continued...

If the vine were left to itself, without the intervention of the human hand, it would return to its natural state very quickly.
Like a vine, it grows and lengthens so the growth of the wood outweighs the fruiting.

Pruning is therefore an essential step, both in the work of a winegrower and in the life cycle of the vine, for the production of grapes of quantity and quality.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

She lived it all this year ...

The too hot, the cold snaps, the hail, the grape harvest under the sun ...
She deserved a little rest our beautiful vine.

It has slowly entered dormancy and will remain there for a few more weeks until warmer temperatures return. Dormance corresponds to the period when the development of the vine is temporarily stopped. The vine naturally reduces its metabolic activity and therefore helps the body to conserve energy. Meanwhile, men may be at work for the crucial size period.

Welcome to the beginnings of the 2020 vintage.

VENDANGES AND VINIFICATION AT CHÂTEAU DES SOURCES

We are mid-September and the weather conditions of recent days are exceptional. The redoux, which has spread throughout the Rhone Valley, has caused a rapid evolution of degrees and accelerated the rate of intake of our grapes in the cellar. The vineyard of Château des Sources has passed the Cape of mid-harvest, but in an orderly way!
We notice an extraordinary diversity of situations in the vineyard. And if the degrees rise quickly, all the reds have not reached their optimum polyphenol. A big work of classification is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff: blocked and / or charged vines, balanced vines ripening normally ...

The work of the winemaker continues at this crucial time, to identify the best plots for the creation of our wines. Ke knows his terroir, his vineyard, a know-how learned vintage after vintage, and chooses finely the harvesting dates to manage the vines as better as possible.

After the vineyard, go to the winery. While the overall trend is at slightly lower PH than last year, some adjustments are necessary. The work of the oenological team begins to control vat tanks, and follow with finesse the evolution of wines via regular analysis and tastings.
The beginnings of alcoholic fermentations (transformation of sugar into alcohol) are a little chaotic at the beginning of this harvest, a direct result of low levels of nitrogen.

Nevertheless, the first tastings of the whites and the rosés give a glimpse of beautiful aromatic expressions, even if the Chardonnay and the Grenache rosé are still a little shy. Beautiful promises on the first Merlot and Syrah rosés, which express themselves while gluttony on intense nose of fresh strawberry and nectarine.

To be continued...

GRAPES MATURITY CHECK: THE ART OF CHOOSING THE PERFECT DATE FOR HARVESTING.

At the Château des Sources, the ripeness checks of grapes is ongoing as the harvest approaches!
While the Marselan is still at colour break, the white grape varieties will probably be harvested by the end of the week.

The winegrowers are taking place in their starting blocks for the 2019 vintage !

RIPENING

Crucial step in the vineyards : here it comes the ripening ! At the end of July with the strong sunshine of the last few weeks, colors of Syrah Berries have changed. Thanks to the sun, pulp continues to enrich their sugar level. However, we will have to show some patience before harvesting...

Happy Bastille day !

SILENCE IT GROWS…

Do you know them ? Do you know that Grenache is the emblematic grape / lighthouse of the Rhone Valley. Known to withstand heat and drought, it has a high degree of sweetness. Generally blended, it contributes to the power of its wines. Mourvèdre is a very late-maturing variety.

It brings to the wines an intensity and a power of great finesse. It is two grape varieties are also a good duet. So under the sun of Provence, swept by the mistral our vineyards continue to grow at the Château des Sources... Highly the relative coolness of the night in this scorching period to rest the vineyard and men who watch them throughout the year…

Category Archives: BLOG

RIPENING

SILENCE IT GROWS…