John’s 2010 vintage update from Gravillas
So, here we are, fin Septembre, only one day of rain (last Friday...) since JUNE, and we’ve brought in most of the Gravillas grapes version 2010. We picked the 1911 (99 year old) Carignan yesterday, like almost all the rest of the grapes it was in perfect condition, delightfully spicy but with the smallest berries we’ve seen in 12 years. One day in October we will pick the Cabernet and Mourvedre, but we can already make some comments.
We started picking grenache gris (pink grapes) on the first day of September, hours after having rebuilt the cellar and eeked into place a new 76HL tank, big enough to hold the entire blend of Sous les Cailloux des Grillons. All our tanks and barrels have names, to make remembering easier for us (we make wine, remember...); but we had a problem as our biggest tank is called Shakespeare and it’s hard to come up with someone even bigger and greater “god?” and “churchill” and even “Sarkozy” were suggested, but we settled on “CHABALL” in honor of the French rugby player, who looks a lot like our cuve...).
The grenache was beautiful but in VERY small quantity. Instead of fermenting it alone, we blended immediately with the grenache blanc and the maccabeu and filled up 4 big barrels at a go. Very quick ride, it’s already dry and getting stirred to keep the lees in suspension.
Our sweet muscat was incredible. I couldn’t stop munching on it as I filled the press. The vines (and the cellar) were invaded by the bees coming to drink the sweet nectar. Also efficiently fermented, fortified, racked, and now awaiting a few months of cold to settle, clear, and develop its muscat and honey, peaches, lychees and flower bouquet. YUM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4lzRdiLpk
By the time we’d gotten past the muscat, we were pretty much resigned to NO RAIN and started looking at the early reds (grenache and syrah) as well as the late white, Terret Gris. Terret is a very local grape, formerly used to make Noilly Prat and every Minervois family’s home “sunday brew”. We saved a plot in 2006 and have been delighted by its unusual and straightforward elegance. It’s not suave and steely like the grenache based Inattendu, just fresh and simple and different. After two years seeking, we found more this year. We picked it in two passes, first pass for the ripest grapes then a second pass a week later to get the grapes from the lazier vines. It was hard on the pickers but it worked and we got lovely grapes both times--12.5 ° on first pass and just under 12° on the second. The 2010 Terret is going to be good.
The Syrah got split into two tanks, one for Grillons with the 2nd presses of the Terret (pink, not white), the grenache noir, counoise and some early carignan, one for RendezVous du Soleil with later carignans.
On Friday last, it finally rained, 15mm, enough to wait a few days for the grapes to plump up and the ripeness to balance out a bit. Yesterday’s Carignans have gone into their own vat, slightly down in sugar concentration (good) and finally with that pungent spice that we wait for each year before cutting the grapes (yes). The Cabernet and Mourvedre are going to be too late to blend during fermentation; they’ll go it alone (together).
It’s been a very smooth harvest, great people picking, delicious grapes and even the cellar is rolling along like we’ve done this all our lives (it’s only our 12th). Sacha’s made the transition into College, with the big kids, and is happily starting his second rugby season. Santé!
John, Nicole, Sacha
