1) Can the combination of a cooler August and a wetter than average September produce grapes capable of making a great wine?
- This is exactly the question we asked ourselves at the time; we had to wait until wine-making was underway to have the answer.
- Did you know that the average sugar levels contained in the 2006 grapes were higher than in 2005?
- Yes, surprising isn’t it! 2005 was a very dry year and the vines’ metabolism had slowed down, whereas in 2006 the leaves were well exposed to sun light, but there were no really high temperatures in August. As a result in 2006, the vine leaves were able to do their job properly and produce sugar – by the end of July the whole vineyard was further developed than in 2005!
- There were two critical periods: at the end of July, when the drought reached its height, and a heat-wave in early September.
2) But even if the sugar levels are high, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the tannins will be plentiful and well-structured, right?
- The quantity of tannins in the grapes is related to the weight of fruit produced by each vine (the yield). This is controlled by good management of the grape yield. This factor was of utmost importance in 2006. A high yield per vine with fruit hidden by thick vegetation, therefore lacking sunlight, could not hope to produce good grapes.
- The ripeness of the tannins, which depends more on weather conditions and the harvest date, made this last point even more pertinent than usual.
- The weather conditions were as follows: the heat-wave during the first week of September could not compensate for a cool August. Therefore, we had to play for time and pick the grapes as late as possible.
Picking the grapes “as late as possible” during a year in which the sum of cumulated summer temperatures is normal, very often means “seeking over-ripeness”. In 2006, it was simply a case of seeking “ripeness”.
3) It is easy to say, but in a year like 2006, with September’s damp conditions favouring the presence and development of botrytis (grey rot), how can you wait longer before harvesting to obtain perfectly mature grapes?
- That was the difficult part. Each wine grower had to find his or her own solution and Laroze was able to prove its advantage.
- We had to hold out, think carefully about picking each parcel on a day-to-day basis, not panic and accept losing part of the harvest by delaying picking. As I am responsible for the estate, it meant that my nerves were under a lot of pressure in 2006.
- At the end of the day, the searing heat of the first week in September burned some grapes on the vines, and within the same month ensued an attack of botrytis, both of which were responsible for the loss of a significant part of the harvest estimated at 20%. Yield worked out finally at 32hl/ha.
4) This is completely crazy, isn’t it?
We are not fervent advocates of late harvesting over-ripe fruit, but we had no other choice in 2006 in order to achieve good skin ripeness. So we finished harvesting 4 to 5 days later than some other estates that usually finish picking after us! We managed to gain a week’s worth of ripening time, which made a huge difference!
When making great wines, you have to gamble and follow through to make it pay off.
Other wine-makers chose to play it safe and harvested earlier to avoid botrytis. The quality of the wine will certainly be affected.
5) Other than taking this calculated risk, how else does Laroze have the advantage?
It is very simple. Our advantage lies in our ability to sort each grape according to its shape, and then to place them in different recipients.
We separate the undamaged round grapes from those that have been slightly split and those that have been completely crushed along with their juice.
In 2006, the eliminated grapes were often infected with botrytis! The round undamaged grapes preserve the aromatic potential.
In this way, the grapes damaged by botrytis did not contaminate the untainted juice.
This enabled us to harvest later, in spite of the extent of the botrytis infection, because we were able to isolate it. We set up this sorting procedure in 2002!
Then when we made the wine, we focused on minimising the impact of the pip tannins.
The result is right here. Coming to taste Laroze 2006 will be far from a waste of time.
We hope people will enjoy it!
See the mini videos of the 2006 harvest.
Understanding the grape sorting machine.
