And the winner is ... Vermentino!

A nerve-wracking weekend as rain and hot, humid weather darted about France, becoming increasingly impossible to forecast. However we stuck to our guns through several sleepless nights and the vineyard fortunately survived most of the localised downpours. We hung in there until the Vermentino ripeness felt right for this year.

We picked very quickly in the early hours on Monday morning and now the juice has settled, Maitena will rack off the heavy sediment into the tanker whilst I make my way up to Bordeaux to make the weeks picking and cellar plan with the Chai cellar team.

















So the Vermentino is this year’s first Midi juice into the Chai taking the crown from the GG; winner for the three previous years! JMS and I are very pleased with the juice. It IS different to last year but then, so was this year’s weather. And so it is every year. I believe we have managed to capture some exceptional aromas and fruit characters unique to the vintage.

Vintages can be similar but NEVER identical and how amazing it is to taste a wine that represents the last 12 months’ weather and is therefore unique in history!

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The Harvest Weather Game

This is a game for up to 1,000,000 players for ages 0-125yrs old

To play you need:

• 1 winemaker (or more to make even more interesting!)
• an almost-ripe vineyard
• very erratic weather
• pair of Blundstone boots
• patience
• a bit of luck

Then the fun begins!

We have been watching the forecast carefully and been up and down every row of each vineyard. But just when we decided to play the risk card and wait another couple of days the wind picked up and in swept the most brutal storm; very heavy rain, hot air and a Med wind!

The whole of the last 48-hours’ vineyard assessment was thrown back into the centre card pile. We were right there and literally watching the storm – quicker than any weather report.

Maitena and I made straight for the most fragile vineyard: the Vermentino, where the storm took its full force over Beziers. The bottom half was flooded so last night we picked all the lower part before the vines could drink up, creating berry-swelling and instant skin split and botrytis (fruit mould).

Play starts again tomorrow with the top half of the vineyard!

An exciting find in Limoux

Started to rain in Bordeaux when I left but four hours later I was through the gates of the Midi and into the beautiful sunshine. However, West-Midi sunshine also comes with the very strong Tramotane wind!

I met up with Madame F, Maitena and viticulturist Regis to do a tour of the Vin de France-trophy-winning La Voute vineyards to see what the maturity is like. Limoux is a fascinating wine-growing area and the La Voute vineyards are in what's called the Oceanique terroir.

The Oceanique terroir to the west of Limoux is completely protected from the Med sea and is one of the four terroirs each with their own micro climate. Here the grapes are fresher and hold higher acid … great for balance and longevity. The extreme corner of the Oceanique borders the highest of the four terroirs – the Haut Valee – and I couldn't resist having a look. WOW, one parcel was so stunning I just have to have it as it will be a perfect component to go with the existing vineyards in the final blend!

The Midi is still waiting to be discovered and even when you think you have seen everything the smallest of areas still excite and surprise and I am very excited. THIS is certainly something, so look out for the 2011 La Voute blend next year!

Windy it was in Limoux but another wind was blowing into Bordeaux in the form of the whirlwind of our chief winemaker JMS! Back on the road again to meet him in Bordeaux at lunch time to tell him the news of my discovery!

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