Apart from a very cold episod in mid-December, the winter was relatively mild in 2007/2008 with monthly temperatures averaging 2°C over the normal. February was very dry and March particularly rainy. In spite of a spring surge during the second week of March, the vegetative period ends in a rather cold atmosphere, with some snow on Easter Monday.
April has been cool and rainy.
It is necessary to wait for the end of April to see the bud burst take place.
Then the mildness of May allows a normal vegetative development; the bloom begins only by June the 20th and benefits from favourable conditions and quickly takes place.
The stage of closure of the cluster is reached in the middle of July and the beginning of “véraison” is noted only towards August 10th/15th. Everything accelerates at the end of August with a warm and sunny week which allows the “véraison” to end and the maturity to evolve.
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Nevertheless, it is from September 14th that rain finally stops. The sun returns and a weather freshly accompanied with north wind allow to stabilize the sanitary state of the harvest as well as the end of maturation in optimal conditions.
The grape harvests began on September 24th under a beautiful sunny and dry climate which lasted until the end of campaign. After a drastic sorting, the volumes are rather weak but the optimal qualitative result is reached.
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As usual, the wine making was little interventionist. The temperatures of the must were taken down to 15°C for the wines which required it; cuvaisons lasted from 18 to 20 days. The alcoholic fermentations took place naturally with beautiful maturities, a high natural acidity and very beautiful colours easily extractibles. Malolactic fermentations were slowly made and finished at the begining of july 2010.
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2008 is a vintage full of freshness and structure with velvety tannins. It will be appreciated quite young though it gain good density during the aging and reflects very well the characteristics of each appellation. |
