DRY WHITE HARVEST
Château La Garde, in Pessac-Léognan, is located on early ripening soils in Martillac. Dourthe began picking the Sauvignon Blanc grapes here on Friday 5 September, marking the start of several weeks of harvesting at Dourthe’s nine estates.
For Frédéric Bonnaffous, Head Winemaker at Vignobles Dourthe, and his team it’s all hands on deck.
“We harvest in the morning and select only the best grapes showing optimum ripeness and full aromatic character. We began with the young Sauvignon Blancs on Friday and yesterday the harvesters concentrated on the more mature vines.
“ We also began harvesting the Sauvignon Blanc at our partner vineyards for Dourthe
N°1 and Dourthe La Grande Cuvée.
“The aromas are intense and lingering, underpinned by great vibrancy. Average temperatures in August and cooler nights during last week’s sunny weather have helped promote fresh, diverse aromas in the grapes.”
Harvesting at Château Rahoul (Graves) starts today (Tuesday 9 September).
Commenting on the Semillons, Bonnaffous reported that they have “great potential.”
RED HARVEST
“Ripening levels are being checked regularly at each of our properties,” reported Patrick Jestin, CEO of Dourthe. property. “Following good, regular flowering this year, rapid growth suggested a harvest a week ahead of schedule. However, moderate weather in July and cooler conditions in August will bring us back to normal harvesting start dates.”
“Today, after ten days of glorious sunshine, we are looking to pick the first Merlot grapes the last week of September. But that’s a long way off! The weather will be the deciding factor.”suggests Frédéric Bonnaffous
“Conditions are good in the vineyards,” continues Jestin. “With vigorous growth, the threat of mildew was averted in July and August by our swift actions in the vineyards. During the last week of August, any fruit affected by late veraison was dropped, preventing an inconsistent harvest. Let’s hope that the weather will remain favourable to allow us to produce a quality harvest to compensate the hard work put in by the Dourthe team”.
