Quite a whirlwind couple of weeks, so here is quick round up
of what’s been going on in France.
The XV du Président red harvest was in full swing in Maury
and the young, partially fermented musts are already showing some stunning deep
colours! The winery was pretty busy down
in the Roussillon with the spaghetti-like hoses covering the floor.
Later on in the week we pressed the Vent de Folie Grenache,
Carignan and Syrah at JC’s garage winery. As usual, it’s a step back in time
when Papy’s old press comes out! His son Axl also got involved, although JC
doesn’t want him to follow in his and his father’s footsteps. Sad but true. Anyway,
he comes back from his Pompier studies in Paris. Nice to see three generations
on the old press!
Back in Bordeaux and the first staff trip was waiting for a
Chai tour and tasting. Great to meet so many of our colleagues and put faces to
names. It’s also a fantastic opportunity
to meet colleagues from the
international offices and we were delighted to welcome Ela from Poland and
Craig from the US this time round. We
had a lovely dinner organised by Libby and cooked by our own queen of harvest
lunches, Bernadette!
The red harvest has now started in Castillon and
Laithwaite’s were in full force to start picking at Henry’s Château La
Verniotte. My mum and dad also flew in to give a hand with the picking!
It’s not going to be the easiest of harvests this year in
Bordeaux, so careful selection is needed before the berries are sent to the vat
for fermentation.
With harvest also comes harvest lunches and Bernadette was
in fine form making a lovely pork stew to get the ball rolling.
The second staff trip arrived and Libby put on a magnificent
dinner in Le Chai Dordogne cellar.
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