2018, A child of the rain and sun
The harvest
Before the harvest, the contrast of hot days and cold nights was wonderful, favoring aromatic and phenolic concentration. In a few words: a dream harvest! More than 4 weeks of idyllic conditions and plots with perfect maturity. Berries were small. Thick and matured skins released a deep color. The maturity of the pips, brown almost dark, round, long and fresh tannins show how great this vintage is.
Informations
Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
43% Merlot
7% Cabernet Franc
Aging
French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels
Harvest proportion
44% BriO de Cantenac Brown
Harvest date
Merlot: Sept 18th – 28th
Cabernet Franc: Oct 1st
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct 2nd – 11th
2018, a tough miracle
Before 2018, « oceanic climate » was a broad meteorological concept made of different nuances. In 2018, from spring to the beginning of summer, this oceanic climate joined the vineyard to remind us of its main characteristic: high humidity spread over the entire season. A er a complicated start of the season, nobody would have thought we would get such an amazing vintage. Once again, our job has been rewarded.
For many years now, we are very active in the vineyard and we opt for preventive measures, debbuding, leaf removal and removal of secondary shoots. Everything is set up to work in good conditions. In 2018, we had to work harder than usual and double our teams to keep it up. In 8 days, we had to de-bud and remove leaves from more than 500 000 vines.
Mid-July, grapes were perfect and were only waiting for the sun to start ripening. The heat from the end of July to the end of August, given the water resources present, allowed evolution without stress. The veraison was slowly homogeneous, the maturity was smooth.
2018 is an unprecedented vintage of great quality, all varietals showing a perfect maturity, mixing concentration, roundness, and balance.