VINEYARD DIARY
May 2008
5 May - A beautiful weekend followed by heavy rain today. The vines are growing rapidly now - lots of pale green leaves and even some tiny bunches of what will (we hope) become grapes. Our Rosé 2007 is now bottled and on sale as we finally received a delivery of bottles - many weeks late. Yesterday's anti-mildew treatment was timely as we received a "mildew alert" on the fax this morning - the temperature outside is 15 degrees and the rain is set to continue for another few days.
28 April - After a weekend of glorious sunshine, we are back to grey, drizzly weather. This rapidly change brings with it a general mildew alert for the area around Lauroux; luckily we managed to treat the vines yesterday so we are keeping fingers crossed that we won't be affected. In the latter half of last week, we managed to get all the wires dropped - the vines are now in leaf so extra care has to be taken on dropping the wires to ensure the new leaf growth isn't damaged. On Saturday we had a group of 28 visitors for a tour and lunch - everyone had a great time - not least ourselves as it's very rewarding to see so many people enjoying the fruits of our labours!
19 April - No, the Spring definitely hadn't arrived in Gascony so were were right to be cautious. Yesterday we had yet more high winds, heavy rain and a hailstorm. Earlier this week the morning frosts became a definite threat to many of our neighbours whose vines are planted on lower ground. Our closest neighbour lit large straw bales at 5am in an effort to warm the air and keep the frost away from his young Sauvignon vines. Today is sunny but still with a cold wind. We are off to London on Monday, just for a couple of days to an event called "British Wine Entrepeneurs in France" - check the diary again soon to find out how we got on! 4 April - The sun is shining but we aren't yet sure if Spring has arrived in Gascony - it is a bit too early to tell after the awful March we've had. The ground is dry again now (and the weeds are high), so we are continuing to replace posts, nails and wires. It is also time to get started on the vegetable garden, ploughing is scheduled for some time next week and planting early the week after.
26 March - Weather still to wet to resume post replacement. It is as if the weather really can't decide what to do - one minute torrential rain, the next minute it is sunny. Plenty of time therefore to catch up with working in the chai. Our rosé goes before the Agrement committee this week so fingers crossed! 21 March - 300 posts to replace and the weather has turned really bad. Luckily for us, our neighbour Guy offered to help us and came along with his tractor (with a heated cab) and "post whacker". Guy has been a real life-saver lately. We finally gave up at 3pm when the ground became too wet to work.
13 March - The pruning is finished and we've started checking the wires and posts. We will start to replace damaged posts early next week but are hoping there won't be as many as last year. The weather has turned a little warmer today, the winds have dropped and the sun has come out. Our white wines passed Agrement yesterday so hopefully next week we can get some 2007 into bottles and out to our customers. 5 March - After a very mild and Spring-like February, Winter has returned to Gascony with freezing winds and high winds. We'd been lulled into thinking Winter was over but unfortunately it's not to be. The pipes in the chai are all frozen again, making them very hard to work with. About 80% of the first-phase filtering is now complete and samples were collected today for agrement. Pruning is almost finished (!), on target for completion at the end of this week.
February 11 - Yet another Spring-like day here in Gascony - a cold, clear start then warming up to 16 degrees with clear blue skies. The cherry trees outside the houses on the road between Manciet and Eauze are starting to flower. Whilst this all sounds idyllic, in reality it is very dangerous. February is typically a cruel month here with biting winds and heavy frosts. If the "normal" weather returns, we're in for a few problems. In the chai, I'm getting things ready for filtering so that the wines can go forward for agrement towards the end of this month.
28 January - After a reasonable weekend and lots of sun yesterday, the temperatures are again bitter and we have a thick fog across the vineyard. We've had a steady stream of visitors re-stocking their cellars and wine racks following the seasonal celebrations - the Cuvee Confiance 2003 has been very well received. Pruning is coming along well - another 4 weeks or so should see us finished. 16 January - Thunderstorms, heavy rain and high winds. More tiles have come off the roof of the barn next to the office. Pruners have been sent home as it is too dangerous (and wet) for them to work outside in the storm. Bessier, our oenologue has visited this morning. His verdict: the Colombard is the best we've ever made. One of the 2 cuves of 2007 rosé sampled this morning is very light in colour with an incredible aroma of cherries. 11 January - 7.15pm - it's the end of a long, cold week, we've just got back to the house and are trying to get the stove to light..... There's the sound of a car outside the house and someone bangs VERY loudly on the front door (which, incidentally, is held together with B&Q filler). When the door could finally be persuaded to open, Nick found 2 members of the Societé de Chasse de Manciet on the doorstep, one of them holding a large plastic bag. Back in the bright lights of the kitchen, it became clear that the bag contained a large slice of sanglier - our share of the spoils from the previous weekends' hunting. Anyone out there have a recipe for wild boar stew? 3 January - The year has started wet and cold with bitter winds, not good news for the pruners. The phones and email are very quiet as much of France seems to still be on holiday until next week so we are making the most of a few quiet days to tidy the bottling plant and warehouse after the Christmas rush. Next week a new round of work starts in the chai as the wine from the 2007 harvest is prepared for agrement.
2007 - 19 December - A week of bitterly cold weather - the wood pile we'd so carefully prepared all through the year is fast disappearing. The storms earlier this month badly damaged the barn next to our office (it is pretty shaky at best) and it looks like it will have to be knocked down. The whole structure seems to be supported by one (almost) horizontal beam which leans onto the office wall. The beam is well and truly rotten and the high winds blew many of the "U" shaped tiles off the roof. So it looks like we'll be carrying out some demolition work for early in 2008. 4 December - After a week in England, we returned to a rainy, grey Manciet and a very cold house. We're experiencing relatively mild temperatures for the time of year (except inside the house....), with a persistent, light drizzle - even the chickens are hacked off with it! We have 2 days of bottling scheduled for this week - playing catch-up for our absence. The pruning continues despite the rain.
12 November - Hand pruning of the ends of rows has started in preparation for the pre-pruning machine. By hand-pruning the ends of each row we reduce the amount of damage the machine might cause to posts - if they are hidden by foilage or vine growth, they can be ripped up or knocked over by accident. The weather is slightly milder today (11°C) but very grey. The bonfire Sullivan started last week to dispose of all the trees he "trimmed" has finally burned itself out which is lucky as George showed far too much interest in it over the weekend!8 November - More frost and very cold temperatures but unfortunately the leaves haven't yet dropped from the vines so we can't start the pre-pruning. The Christmas orders are coming in thick and fast now and there's another tanker parked outside the office filling up with wine headed for Germany. Our neighbours are telling us that many of the negociants are preparing themselves for a shortage of VDP next year following this years' disappointing yields; and that many of them are buying stocks in early to re-sell next year. Sullivan has been busy "trimming" trees and hedges. It has to be said that Sullivan's style of gardening errs towards "minimalist" so the trees edging the path from the house down to the office have been given very severe haircuts. The trees overhanging the vegetable garden have all but disappeared. Apparently, the trees behind the house are next on the list...........
26 October - The weather is even colder - 1°C and this morning we had frost on the grass between the vines. All the grass was cut earlier this week so we're just waiting for the pre-pruning machine to arrive, then all the hand-pruning will start. We've finally got round to ordering the labels for the Cuvée Confiance 2003 which will DEFINITELY be on sale very soon - thanks to everyone for their patience! 23 October - The weather has now turned cold - 3°C this morning! We've moved all the lemon trees from the swimming pool terrace into the tasting room for the Winter - they'll stay inside until early April. Bernard our oenologue has been round the chai with Nick this morning - all is going well with the fermentations. The rosé is looking especially promising. Today we're bottling to fulfil customer orders, the low temperatures will probably affect the labelling section of the bottling line but hopefully we won't waste too many labels!
17 October - The 2007 harvest is now finished, today we brought in our Cabernet Sauvignon and the small amount of Tannat we grow here. At the last minute, one of our machines broke down and couldn't be fixed. Luckily for us, one of our neighbours came to our assistance and lent us their tractor and machine so we were able to finish without too much delay. The mornings' fog cleared by lunchtime and this afternoon has been glorious - 22 degrees. As we predicted, the yields this year are significantly reduced from normal harvests - down by about 50 - 60%. We are very lucky that the quality of the grapes and juice is very high and the alcohol levels are consistently above the norm. The reduction in yields is evident everywhere around us - less tractors and harvesting machines working, less tankers visiting the co-operatives and less grapes spilt on the roads!
3 October - 7.30am. The temperature is already 16 degrees. Our neighbours the Ceschin family have been harvesting across the road from Lauroux for the last couple of hours - we are still waiting for our machine to arrive. 2 October - The weather has turned mild again, bringing a fresh onslaught of all sorts of flying nasties including mosquitos and fruit flies. The temperature (in the shade outside the office), is 27 degrees. Today we have lorries in and out, the vineyard is a bit like a carpark as vehicles arrive and leave with wines and Armagnac for Belgium, the UK and Italy. We are planning on bottling this evening as this mornings' attempt was aborted due to the humidity which prevented the labels from sticking to the bottles, even though the humidity now is lower, we are drying each bottle before putting it on the line. Tomorrow we harvest the Ugni Blanc and if we ever work out how to get the new camera to work, there will be some footage on U-Tube.
26 September We have finally started harvesting! This morning we brought in the Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the volumes, as predicted were very low but at this early stage the quality looks very good. As the yields were so low, we finished harvesting by lunchtime so got started on clean-down nice and early. The predicted alcohol is around 12% and my decision not to make red wine is totally appropriate based on this mornings' volumes and quality. The driver of the contracted harvesting machine was telling us that volumes everywhere are down and that in some vineyards he's worked on this week, they have harvested a couple of rows as a "trial pick" and decided not to continue. The grape juice from this mornings harvesting (for the rosé), is "sweet and sherbertty" according to Spencer! 21 September - We will start harvesting next Wednesday, the 26th so today are enjoying the calm before the storm. Spencer has joined us for the harvest and will be working with Nick in the chai for the next couple of weeks. The mornings have turned very cold, temperatures are down to 7 degrees, warming up during the day buy not to the temperatures we need for ripening. We'll be harvesting the Merlot by hand this year as the yields are so low and the machine harvester would further damage the small crop. Anyone want to volunteer to come and pick? Bring your own secateurs if you do! 17 September - The day started badly with thunder and lightening, fortunately followed by only a little rain between 7am and 7.30am. The sky soon brightened and we now have full sun - unfortunately the forecast is for more storms so we are keeping our fingers crossed they will miss us. 12 September - Perfect ripening weather again today - 24 degrees, clear skies and a light wind. This morning Sullivan's pal the welder arrived to carry out some repairs in the chai. I'm off to the UK tomorrow for another whistle-stop visit, Karen continues to cold-call potential new clients and has to be fortified with chocolate throughout this stressful task . Feedback from last weeks' BBC 2 programme continues to arrive - thank you (ish) for your comments. In answer to several questions, the bank is Credit Lyonnais - enough said!
11 September - Virtually a week of perfect ripening weather - warm, sunny with cool nights and light winds. Yesterday's côntrole de maturité test shows steadily increasing alcohol levels with the acidity dropping nicely. We are still looking at starting the harvest the last week in September. Sullivan has started cleaning and disinfecting the chai. On Sunday we were guests of Manciet's mayor - Monsieur Capbreton - at the Course Landaise competition. For those of you who have visited Manciet, you will know that the stadium is very elderly, and "rustic". At the end of the tournament, the winner was required to climb an aluminium ladder (belonging to the local electrician), to collect his trophy from M. Capbreton whilst the announcer held on to the ladder to prevent it from topping backwards! Only in France!!!! The 3 of us were rolling about laughing in the back of the stands but luckily our fellow villagers just thought we were getting into the spirit of things. Madge has just found the first of this years' cep rustlers - I think they left in a hurry........ 4 September - Heavy rain this morning, much improved by lunchtime with lots of sun and a gentle wind. Yesterday's côntrole de maturité test told me pretty much what I'd thought it would but it gave me a base line. The Merlot, as I'd expected, is ahead of the other varietals but is looking good despite the bad weather we've experienced.
31 August - Today we've been out to choose the bottles for our Cuvée Confiance 2003, unfortunately we hadn't reckoned on the European shortage of bottles. We didn't get an entirely satisfactory answer from our supplier on what has caused the shortage. The weather continues to be mixed with temperatures lower than we would expect for this time of year; cool night temperatures, morning fogs but warming up as the day progresses. I will be starting my Côntrole de Maturité testing on Monday the 3rd; this will help me establish the acidy and predicted degree of alcohol in the grapes. 23 August - Still raining...... 22 August - After a couple of weeks of "Summer", the rain has returned and the temperatures have plummeted to between 15 and 17 degrees. Our plan for this week was to finish the last vine treatment which would take us through to the harvest. Conditions need to be absolutely ideal when the treatment takes place as timing of this final treatment is crucial. We have managed to spray one tank this morning before the rain set in. Our principal tractor (a Renault 8014F for those of you who are interested....), has been leaking hydraulic fluid for a while now, steadily getting worse, but we've been very fortunate to find an experienced tractor mechanic (from the UK), who has worked wonders and repaired the seal, saving us a very large garage bill. 7 August - M. Balix returned as promised and dug yet another hole. The cracked section of pipe has been located and replaced and the counter on the water meter has stopped racing round. Instead of the pipe being of the rigid design, it was more of a "hose", this inferior quality had led to the pipe splitting. The ground around the barn is now slowly drying out and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we won't see any more leaks for a while - in fact M. Balix was very optimistic, in true Gascon style, his parting words were "I guarantee nothing and hope not to see you again". Lovely. We had several days of very hot, dry weather but returned to rain yesterday. Our tasting room is busy this week as Gascony is filled with holiday makers from all over Europe - great news!
30 July - Actually the water leak wasn't fixed so M. Balix and his tractopelle are due back sometime this week so that further large holes can be dug in an attempt to find further holes. As for the weather.... after a couple of days of heat and sun, we are now back to cloud interspersed with a little sun but nowhere near as much sunshine as we need at this time of year. We are grass cutting this week, still using the broyeur as the grass is too thick to use the normal mower. In spite of everything the weather has thrown at us this year, the vineyard is in good shape and we are focussing on the harvest which we anticipate will be towards the end of September. Next week we will start cleaning the winery from top to bottom followed by cleaning and repairing harvesting equipment. 23 July - Life is returning to normal following our visit from the BBC team - we seriously had no idea how exhausting fame would be!!! The experience was something so completely different for us, we had to concentrate really hard to get to grips with all the new vocabulary such as "reverse angle", "noddies", "wides" and of course having to answer the same question several times because a hang glider/aeroplane/helicopter had flown over. Fortunately for everyone, George was away for the filming so that only left Madge to walk in and out of shot and generally be a nuisance. As for the weather this week - we've had heavy rain today and the temperature is 19°C. Nick has spent much of today down a water-filled hole trying to replace a broken pipe (the leak resulted in a 2000€ water bill). The leak is now fixed but several other areas of fragile pipework have presented themselves for replacement! 11 July - The weather continues to be mixed - but mainly rain. Today we started the second rognage, this will continue tomorrow, weather permitting. Rognage will be followed by effeuillage to remove the lower leaf canopy over the grapes - the effeuillage process is even more critical this year as we've had much less sun so far and the grapes currently need all the sun they can get to ripen. By opening up the leaf canopy, the wind to circulate more efficiently and dry the grapes following dew or showers. Immediately after the effeuillage is finished, we'll do a treatment to cauterise the cut ends of the vines. This afternoon we are busy preparing Armagnac for our Scottish importers - this is labour-intensive work as all filtering, corking, sealing, waxing and labelling is done by hand.
28 June - 20 hours on the tractor last week; the first rognage of the year. This week so far, 18 hours of grass cutting but unfortunately the broyeur has broken and I'm hoping that the repair man in Eauze can weld the break today as he's closed tomorrow and Saturday for a stocktake. If the repair man can't do the work, Sullivan and I will be welding the piece ourselves tomorrow morning. To cap it all, I've just fixed a puncture in the chambre d'air on cuve number 17 and I'm not having a good day! I've been following the bio debate in the trade press with great interest and I've been researching how closely Lauroux fits with the French and UK bio/organic rules. Since we arrived here, I've always maintained that I'll use the very minimum of chemicals and additives in my wines. However it appears that although grapes and grape juice can qualify as being "organic", there is officially no such thing as "organic wine" - the labelling states that the wine has been "derived from grapes grown organically". From the information I've found so far, it would appear there are a number of organisations who are endeavouring to define and certify "organic wines". In the course of the research, there is, I believe, nothing that would stop our wines being defined as "organic" under these embryonic rules. I've amassed a pile of documents including the "charte de bio" from FNIVAB and I'm working my way through the application process in my spare time!
12 June - Today's headline in "La Depeche" reads "Deux orages de grêle dévastateurs" accompanied by some truly harrowing photos of vines over in the Saint Mont apellation which were decimated by hail stones the size of tennis balls. Here at Lauroux we can only breathe great sighs of relief that we managed to avoid the storms of yesterday and Sunday. According to the press reports, Saint Mont have lost this years' harvest on 500 hectares of vines (approximately 1,250 acres), this loss will also affect their 2008 harvest. Obviously the hail affected more than just vines - crops of fruit, maize were ruined and over 3000 ducks were killed or maimed.
We've spent the last few days bottling - lots of cursing at the labelling machine which, due to the humidity, was refusing to work properly and instead spat out labels in all directions! Out in the vines, growth continues at a frightening pace - our technician visited last week and confirmed that our vines have enough water to see them through to next year. We have nearly completed the second lift on the wires which will be quickly followed by rognage and grass cutting. In spite of everything going around here, I'm happy to report that our Cuvee Confiance 2003 will soon be ready for release. This morning's tasting of the Cuvee went well - lots of jammy fruit flavours.
30th May - After several days of very heavy rain and storms including hail, we can once again get outside and do some work. We've spent most of yesterday and today checking on damage to the vines and lifting the wires needed to support the massive amount of growth on the vines - about 25cm in 3 days. Everyone locally is saying they've never seen conditions like this and those who have planted maize have seen significant amounts washed away. All things considered, we have come out of the storms quite well - minor repairs and recovery as opposed to catastrophe. I'm making the most of having free family labour which couldn't have come at a better time - 5 of us lifting wires means the task should be finished by the start of next week. We spent most of the bank holiday weekend bottling wine to fulfil orders which have now been shipped. Armagnac sales have really picked up over the last few months which is fantastic on one hand but as every bottle is hand-filled, sealed, waxed and labelled - it is very labour intensive. Now that the bad weather appears to be leaving us, everyone's attention is turning to the outcome of the presidential elections. As "employers" we favoured Sarkozy but the vast majority of employees in the area (usually on or close to minimum wage), favoured Segolene Royal whose strategy, had she been elected, would have been to increase the minimum wage and thus add to the burden of the employers. In order to pay for the fantastic health system here in France (yes, really), amongst other things, we pay as much in social charges as we do to the employee - as I've mentioned before on this page, this prevents us from employing any additional resource. 19th May - Yet again I spoke to soon about the weather improving! Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday saw heavy rain and high winds. Yesterday was misty and grey, becoming humid in the afternoon. This weather is really bad for everyone growing crops so farmers and vignerons in the area are talking of nothing else. Growth on the vines is about 2 weeks ahead of normal in spite of the fact that they budded about 2 weeks later than usual. This extraordinary growth is due to the huge amount of rain followed by brief periods of sun which at times is creating almost tropical conditions. Leaves on the red vines and some of our whites open to form cups which, during rain, hold water. The sun arrives and warms the water, creating a breeding pool for the various enemies of the vineyard; notably mildew. Epamprage/de-budding was finished on Thursday and will be swiftly followed by wire-lifting. Today I'm working in the chai preparing red wine for bottling this week. Our rosé continues to be extremely popular - all the 2006 has now been placed with clients across Europe and we are working with customers on sales projections for 2007. We anticipate making significantly more rosé this year. The remainder of the weekend will be filled with DIY work on the holiday cottage here at Lauroux - there's lots of work to be finished before the 25th. Plans for next week - depending on the weather - include a treatment and mowing the grass between the vines.
9th May - The weather has finally changed for the better. After over a week of grey, rainy days, we now have the sort of weather and temperature we have come to expect for Gascony in May - blue skies and 25.7°C. Despite it being a public holiday here in France yesterday (Victoire 1945), I spent the whole day sat on a tractor but at least it was cool so not too uncomfortable. Sullivan has finished the treatment this morning so the vines should stay protected for another couple of weeks. 1st May - It is a public holiday here in France and perhaps predictably, it hasn't stopped raining here since about 17.00hrs yesterday. The temperature outside is 11°C. When I went down to the workshop earlier (to locate cable clips this time.....), Sullivan's rain guage had recorded 50mm of rain. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week so epamprage (or de-budding) will continue in spite of the weather - thank goodness for Drizabone coats! 24 April - After several days of very hot weather, we are back to an overcast day and cooler temperatures. The vines have continued their growth spurt so we have started the treatment programme to protect the vines against the possibility of mildew. We've had lots of fog and rain - perfect for the dreaded mildew. Yesterday we started empamprage or "de-budding" which will take us about 10 days. This is another task done completely by hand, one vine at a time. 16 April - Today's bottling went well - no breakages and not too many wasted labels. I've just finished clean-down (16.25) and now need to turn myself to this morning's post and the mountain of paper "le facturier" has no doubt delivered. For anyone who dreams of running a business in France - check out the amount of forms and paperwork you need to contend with! The weather today is mild but grey - not even a tiny patch of blue sky above Lauroux. About 50% of the vineyard is showing 3-5 leaves per bud which means that we now need to think about starting our treatment programme. Once we start, every 12-15 days we need to do a treatment. In 2006 we started the programme on 19 April. 13 April - Well, I spoke too soon about the weather improving and today it has rained again. More bottling today and a rather half-hearted attempt to tidy the bottling plant which looks as if a bomb has landed. Apparently I am getting in the way of the Spring cleaning and decorating! Our entire stock of Cuvée Confiance 2000 has been purchased so next week I am working with our oenologue on our Cuvée Confiance 2003 which I hope will be equally well received and ready for tasting in the next few months. 12 April - The weather has turned much warmer and buds have started to appear on the vines - there are even a few leaves in evidence too. All the posts are replaced and we've started to put nails and new wires onto the new posts. More wine will go for "agrement" today, I'm waiting for collection of the samples. The at-the-door trade has started to increase - this generally herald the start of the tourist season in the Gers which is never very busy, even in July and August. Visitors to the Domaine's tasting room are always welcome as it is a great opportunity for us to find out at first hand what people think of our wines. We get visitors of all nationalities and they don't hold back on their thoughts about the wines! Whilst it is great that we now have a strong distribution network in the UK, we always appreciate the feedback from the people who actually drink the wine so we are hoping for that we'll have lots of visitors over the coming months. Karen will be re-decorating the tasting room next week in readiness for our visitors. It is hard to believe that this was one of the first jobs we undertook when we came here back in March 2004 and already we are re-painting! 3 April - It has finally stopped raining and we have a few tiny spots of blue sky over the vineyard. The large, fallen tree near the house has finally been moved - courtesy of Sullivan who finally got bored of waiting for the tree surgeon and cut up the tree himself. Today we were due to start hammering in the new posts but the contractor called yesterday evening and cancelled. All the new posts are laid out by the vines so there's nothing else we can do without the contractor, his tractor and the special hammering attachement, otherwise known as an "enfonce pieux" or "post rammer". There's lots of surface water out in the vines, our soil has a high clay content which means that rainwater takes a while to drain away, even longer when the soil is saturated as it is now. We are very keen to minimise using the tractors on the land until the rain drains.
23 March - Things have been a little chaotic this week (plus ça change), as Karen has been in London attending a WSET course and sitting an exam - the results are due in about 4 weeks. The weather has been truly awful and everyone is sick and tired of the cold and damp. I am sure we will be glad of the extra water later on in the year but right now, I'd really like to see some sunshine. Sullivan has just finished checking all the posts which support the vines and wires in readiness for the replacement of all broken and damaged posts next week. We need to replace around 500 posts which is about 3 times the number we replaced last year - the cost of this will be quite significant. Look out for some photographs of the "post replacement process" on this page next week - they are bound to be hilarious as Sullivan and I chase the tractor around the vineyard. More of my wines passed agrement this week - this is always comforting as you just never know what is going to happen when "the committee" gets together. We are STILL waiting for the tree surgeon.8 March - 16.15hrs - THE PRUNING IS FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!! We are still waiting for the tree surgeon..... 6 March - All went well with agrement last week so I can now prepare the rosé to fulfill some of the orders for the UK and Belgium. My oenologue is due tomorrow morning so we'll be doing a tour of the chai and agreeing what happens next with several of the cuves. We'll also be looking at the moelleux I've been working on for the past few weeks. This will hopefully be accepted by our new UK distributors - Inverarity Vaults. I soon discovered that their quality standards are very high so although there's more work to do on the moelleux, I'm hopefully it will meet their approval. The weather at the weekend was very good - 24 degrees on Sunday - shorts weather! Yesterday and today have been cooler and the wind is now very strong. No sign of the tree surgeon yet and as the pruning is due to finish this week (so Sullivan tells me), I want to get the trees moved out of the way.
27 February - Having returned from our UK trip and spent the whole of last week getting orders ready for shipment, I think I've just about caught up with the mountain of paperwork which had built up whilst we were away. Samples for the 2 wines submitted for "agrement" were collected last week and the committee sits tomorrow. Hopefully I'll receive a decision early next week and can plan from there. The weather is very wet, grey and grim, the pruning continues despite the downpour. We are awaiting a visit from the local tree surgeon as several trees fell during the storms last week and a couple more need some urgent attention before they damage adjacent buildings. 6 Feburary - Pandemonium reigns here at Lauroux. We've spent the past few days bottling and preparing orders for collection this week so the bottling plant and warehouse are full of pallets shrink-wrapped and ready to go. This morning has been spent completing all the necessary customs documentation together with the monthly customs submissions for all wines, Armagnac and Floc sold during January. Needless to say, I have had enough of paper-pushing and am keen to get back to my wines! In the chai things are calm and tranquil - I've taken samples of all the cuves and delivered them to the local government laboratory for them to test the sulphur levels. As many regular readers will know, I prefer to keep the sulphur levels low in my wines and test regularly in case top-ups are needed. The lab results will arrive tomorrow so I'll adjust the cuves accordingly tomorrow afternoon. Over the weekend we took a walk around the vineyard to look at the tree damage following the snowfall. We counted over 30 trees damaged or fallen so as soon as the pruning is finished, we'll start our clearing programme - we have 10 hectares of woodland so this will mean several weeks of cutting down dead or fallen trees and pulling them out of the woods. 1 February - The snow has finally melted and the temperature has warmed to 2 degrees. We will re-start pruning on Monday of next week and do our best to make up lost time. All the locals are saying they've never seen snow like this - everyone here is understandably obsessed with the weather. Our friends at EDF have made the most of the cold weather to invoke the "top tariff" or "double-red days". We've held off with bottling and non-essential chai work so far this week but we will be bottling tomorrow no matter what the electicity tariff is. We have several orders backed up and we can't leave these any longer. We've been spending the time profitably in the office following up on lots of enquiries about the wines and Armagnac - we're discussing distributor agreements with companies in Australia, China and Italy.
27 January - The outside temperature today is -7 degrees, slightly warmer in the chai. This morning I have adjusted the sulphur levels in several of the cuves. I aim to keep sulphur levels at a minimum but with the recent warm weather, then this very cold snap, the levels were falling too low, hence today's adjustment. The bottling run scheduled for Monday may have to be postponed due to the extreme cold as water pipes are frozen making cleaning impossible. This may cause me a problem as we have a lorry scheduled to collect an order mid-week - if a lorry were to arrive, it is extremely unlikely the driver would be able to get the vehicle out of the vineyard! The forecast is below zero for the next few days , improving towards the end of the week. Pruning has been abandoned as the snow on the vines prevents us from seeing where to prune. Hopefully early next week we can get the tractors out into the woods to clear some of the trees which fell on Wednesday/Thursday during the snowstorm - these trees will provide us with firewood in the years to come. The demand from the UK for our Armagnac is increasing rapidly so we will probably have to schedule in a day bottling Armagnac, this is a very labour-intensive process as everything is done by hand. As far as we can tell, the increase in demand seems to be due to an increase in awareness in the UK of Armagnac generically but also due to Domaine de Lauroux's Armagnac becoming well known as a quality product at a good price. 25 January - Our power and telephones have been off all day and normal service has been resumed in the last few minutes (17.00) so we've had a very quiet day. We had about 6 inches of snow last night so the roads were blocked and several trees have fallen both here on the vineyard and the surrounding area. Fortunately we have wood-burning stoves at the house so hyperthermia won't be a problem we have to face! I managed to get some spectacular photos of the vineyard under snow so I will try and load those tomorrow. 22 January - The weather is much colder than last week (8 degrees today) but at least we have some much needed rain. I'm filtering again today - cuve number 9 - after 3 attempts the filtering process is going well and the wine should only require one more filtration before it is ready to go for agrement. 19 January - I can't believe the month is half-way through already! Since our return from our Christmas break, we've spent a lot of time (and money) on repairs around the Domaine. As we are now already planning for the Summer holiday season, we've had work done on the pool terrace, its surrounding wall and various other areas of the vineyard - including the drains! The weather is unseasonably warm so this gives the Gascons something to worry and talk about and whilst it helps to cut down the heating bills, 15 degrees in the middle of January just isn't right. I know I shouldn't complain as December's weather was very cold but if the vines start to bud too early, then a frost arrives - we've got problems. I'm delighted that my first cuve of 2006 wine was approved by the Syndicat yesterday so it now has "agrement" and I can sell it as Vin de Pays - only several thousand hectolitres left to get approval! The Vin de Pays approval system is very complicated but after 3 years here, it is becoming a little clearer to me. I'm still filtering the cuves (number 18 yesterday), about 80% of the filtering is done now - the white cuves are showing early promise; a lovely warm, gold colour - all beautifully clear.
22 December 2006- The weather is again very cold - minus 5 each morning this week but with plenty of sun to keep the pruning team happy. Sullivan now has a heater, kettle and radio in his office (the workshop) so he's very comfortable and well looked after. The pruning team are continuing to make good progress and now that a large section of the Gros Manseng is finished, they are motivated to work faster - I am still constantly amazed at the difference between the vines in the Winter and in the Summer; it's like being on 2 different planets. Filtering has come to a temporary halt as our electricity tariff (EDF Tempo) allows EDF to adjust the rate per unit of consumption between November and March, (at 20.00hrs we are advised of the tariff for the following day). On certain days the rate can be 10 times the norm - known as a "double red day", so all non-essential appliances (this includes the heating), are switched off. Since our arrival and being ruthless we have managed to reduce our electricity consumption by about 5000€ per year. This week we've had 3 consecutive "double red days" so I'm hoping to get back to the filtering next week. 8 December - Not the best week to own a vineyard..... The temperatures at the start of the week were quite mild but yesterday and today the weather turned cold (8 degrees) with heavy winds and driving rain. I've spent most of the week in the chai filtering the wines; feeling cold, damp and very sorry for myself..... The liquids in the cuves have changed more or less into something everyone would identify as wine. I can now start thinking about the assemblage or blending of the individual cuves, (each one is a different cepage or grape variety). Instead of imagining what each cuve will taste like - I know now what I have to work with to make my 2006 vintages. I will probably start the blending process early in 2007. In spite of the weather, pruning is progressing well and Sullivan is delighted with his new electric secateurs and has lived up to his promise of being an excellent pruner, he makes me feel even slower! This evening we are off to Mont-de-Marsan (the nearest shopping metropolis) so that George can see all the Christmas decorations. 3 December - Last week we finally started pruning! The pre-taille machine arrived on Tuesday lunchtime, having finished work at our neighbours' , and started here after the lunchbreak. The full 19 hectares were machine pruned by late Thursday afternoon. Sullivan sprung into action on Wednesday and prompted me to research electric secateurs - an investment of around 1,500€ as the current electric secateurs are too slow and the battery doesn't last a full day. We managed to borrow a demonstration set of secateurs and having spent an afternoon pruning (Friday) I am now fully aware of what a difference there is in speed between me and Sullivan - this makes the new secateurs an excellent investment. In the winery we have started the process of refining the wines by removing sediments collected in the bottom of the cuve. This generally involves pumping wine from one cuve to another leaving a few centimetres of liquid and sediment at the bottom - this is disposed of by cleaning the cuve from the inside with water at high pressure, then a bleach solution to thoroughly disinfect the cuve, then a further rinse with fresh water - this is known as "RBR" or "rinse, bleach, rinse". At this stage, cleanliness is paramount as a dirty cuve breeds bacteria and can taint wine when the cuve is re-used at a later stage. To properly clean out each cuve takes over an hour - this excludes time taken the empty the cuve in the first place! I've refined the pumping process and know how long each cuve takes to empty so nowadays I can go away, do another job and come back in time to stop the pump. Tomorrow we have a meeting with our accountant to go through the year end figures for the 12 months to 30 June 2006 - we're hoping the business is going in the right direction!
21 November - just as we thought we were catching our breath, (time for a coffee from the new Senseo machine we've bought for the office) the unbelievable Gascon scenario occurs. A customer places an order, having pre-arranged his transport to collect from us tomorrow! 20 November - After yesterday we were hoping for a quiet Monday...... No chance..... Our transporter rang to say that his lorry, en route from Spain), would be calling the next afternoon to collect 4 different customer orders - so we had to get them ready toute de suite! 19 November - A rare and very much enjoyed day off! My Uncle Geoff and Auntie Marilyn who I haven't seen for over 6 years came to visit. In true Gascon style, lunch started at 12.30 and finished when we all gave up and went to bed at 10pm. No doubt we bored them to death with our stories but it really reminded Karen and I of how proud we are of our little corner of Gascony and brought home to us what we've achieved in the 2 years 7 months since we arrived here. The main course today was lamb cooked for 7 hours in our Armagnac - bliss! Uncle Geoff brought some fabulous wines from his local chateau near Carcassone - it was a real pleasure to taste the fruits of someone else's labours. 17 November - The temperature is 19 degrees so we have all the doors and windows open enjoying the November sun. We've been busy in the bottling plant today, especially since Mick has departed - Karen actually worked on the bottling line this morning - the first time in 5 months! Future profits are secured as the warm weather means the Armagnac stores aren't depleted by my loved one tipping 15 Ans into her chocolat chaud when she arrives for work each morning...... 16 November - Work in the chai has become relatively routine - lots of pumping, cuve cleaning and general care of the wine. We've so far had 2 estimates for re-lining cuve number 4 - ranging between 6,000 and 8,000 euros (I'm in the wrong business. I'm investigating buying a new stand-alone cuve in stainless steel then Sullivan and I spending a few days next year re-lining number 4 ourselves. The weather is unseasonably warm, the leaves still haven't dropped from the vines so we can't start to prune. The latest estimate for a start date is 2 weeks from today. 15 November - This evening we are off to dinner with Mark and Rebecca it will be a wonderful opportunity to sample some of the wines Mark has collected during his 7 weeks travelling across Europe. He has promised a few surprises! UP-DATE - 23.00hrs - just got home (stumbled across the vineyard). Mark was true to his word and provided some fantastic wines - 6 different bottles in fact! The Domaine Sainte Benoit sweet Rastel (chateauneuf du Pape), the first ever red dessert wine I've tasted - 15.5% abv - absolutely magnificent. So good infact that Karen forbade me from drinking any more and finished my glass for me! 13 November - We are on the lookout for some replacement help in the vineyard following Mick's sudden decision earlier today, to return to Australia. He's off to Spain for a few days' holiday, then its back to Melbourne on 4 December. Now is one of the most difficult times to find temporary help as all the vineyards will start pruning in the next few days - this afternoon we'll be making lots of phone calls and calling in favours! 11 November - This week we are joined by Australians Mark and Rebecca - they've stopped off at Lauroux for a few days at the end of their European tour prior to flying back to Australia for a few months. Mark has previously worked with our new Scottish Client, Wood Winters so I'm looking forward to his input as I prepare Armagnac to fulfil December orders. UP-DATE - Mark's feedback on the Armagnac 15 year old Armagnac is that he can smell " peking duck, star anise and Chinese five spice powder". 6th November - Having spent around 40 minutes collecting spent fireworks and sparklers, I finally managed to start the bottling run. It is a very bright, clear start to the day and this seems to act as a good omen and all the machinery operates well. The lorry arrives to take the wine and Armagnac to our new Scottish Client - Wood Winters who are located in Bridge of Allan - this is our first order to Scotland so we are really happy and proud! 5th November - We decide to celbrate bonfire night with lunch for a few friends followed by some fireworks but wildly underestimate how difficult it will be to find fireworks in Gascony now that July 14th has been and gone! Luckily we manage to locate a few, plus some sparklers so George will be happy. Lunch will be the wild boar shot on our land some months ago and stored carefully in the freezer. The plan is to cook the boar in a rich stew flavoured with juniper berries, rosemary (from Karen's herb garden) and a bottle of our Cuvée Confiance rouge 2000 - I'm sure the animal would have approved. 1st November - We start pruning in around 2 weeks - I just can't believe the year has gone so quickly as I can vividly remember sitting here 6-7 months ago thinking "thank god the pruning's finished" - now we have to start all over again! The weather is much colder today (a bank holiday or "jour ferie" to celebrate the feast of Allsaints). We currently have a 40 tonne lorry in the yard, having arrived from Portugal at 9pm last night with 14,000 bottles for our next bottling run on Friday. As it is a bank holiday, the driver can't move his vehicle until 10pm tonight so he is a guest at Lauroux - we are creeping around the yard as he is currently asleep in his cab!
31 October - The harvest is finished! This morning (in fog) we harvested the Gros Manseng which I use in the sasemblage for the Blanc Sec but also as a single varietal for the Moelleux wine. Everything went smoothly - I have to admit, I kept waiting for something to go wrong but nothing did until the very last grapes were put into the press... The conveyor which carries the debris from the press into a waiting trailer, collapsed so we (Mick and Sullivan) were forced to use a wheelbarrow to move the last few kilos. Before you go feeling sorry for them - they are much younger than me and need the exercise! The PAL is looking very good so I'm very happy that I waited so long to harvest. The first harvest reds (Merlot and Cabernet Franc) have finished their malolactic fermentation - great news as this will only happen if the wine is at approximately 20°c and with cold weather predicted, it is one less thing to worry about. 28 October - The weather has changed yet again, we are now experiencing temperatures in the mid to late 20's by early afternoon - if only I had the time to sit by the pool and enjoy the sunshine! I'm looking forward to finally harvesting the Gros Manseng next week - probably Tuesday. It will be a relief to have all the grapes in the chai at last. 24 October - Winter is most definitely on its way - the morning temperatures are around 10 degrees or a little lower, warming to around 18 or 19 degrees by mid-afternoon. We have a number of wines currently fermenting and those which have already fermented have exceeded my expectations - I was concerned that due to the rainy conditions, the predicted alcohol levels (PALs) would be too low. This hasn't happened and the actual alcohol levels are better than I anticipated so my strategy of harvesting later than other vineyards in the area, seems to have paid off. The winery is now almost full and we have just one more day (if all goes well) of harvesting left - the Gros Manseng. This weeks' "spanner in the works" is that cuve number 4 is out of commission whilst we await repairs to the lining. On the plus side, I don't need to get out of bed at 5.30am tomorrow! Orders for Christmas stocks are coming in thick and fast - particularly for the Armagnac. We've applied to UK Customs for our duty stamps under the new "Duty Stamps Scheme" and have been accepted - we're just awaiting the final paperwork so that we can ship all this wonderful Armagnac to England and Scotland. Karen has up-dated our "Stockists" page so please check for your nearest Lauroux stockist. 10 October - A grey and misty start, brightening up at around 10.30am. We have ideal harvesting conditions today with the added bonus of a truly international team: a French tractor driver (Sullivan), an Australian "chai assistant!" (sorry Mick, I couldn't resist it....), and 2 Chillean machine drivers. Luckily for us, the drivers speak a little English and slightly less French, one of them having spent some time on a vineyard in California. We are accustomed to foreign drivers as we get Polish, French, Spanish, Portugese, English, Belgian and Dutch lorry drivers collecting pallets of wine. The grapes are coming in as solid fruit, very different to the way we expect - I've yet to see the impact this will have but the juice is coming through the press much cleaner than usual. 8 October - I've just popped into the office to write up today's notes - all is well in the chai. I've taken temperatures and density readings and plotted them on my graph. The fermentations this year have run much faster but less erratically than in 2005. 6 October - The day started cold (10 degrees), we started harvesting at 8am and all went according to plan although it was one of those days when everything seems to take forever! The aromas on the grape juice are good but the predicted degree of alcohol is lower than I would like, it appears that this is in line with neighbouring vineyards. Here at Lauroux, I'm lucky that I can blend the individual cepages following vinification. The harvesting of the grapes was completed by 16.00 and the press finally stopped at 17.30 - that just left 2 hours of clean-down. 5 October - we've spent the morning taking the reds off their skins - loads of mess for Mick to clear up! The fermentation is all but finished and we've extracted enough colour and complexity from the skins. This year I'm paying extra special attention to our red wines as I strongly believe Gascony reds are going places and are woefully underestimated both here in France and in the UK. 4 October - Rain this morning but drying winds this afternoon. I've decided to harvest the remainder of the Colombard on Friday 6th, virtually "come whatever". This has become necessary because I'm concerned that we may get a significant attack of mildew on the Colombard - the danger here is not just to the Colombard but to the whole vineyard as we are approximately 2 weeks behind schedule. The up-side is that the quality of the juice so far is very good - I'm happy on that front! The weather finally looks as if it will settle down as the forecast for the weekend and beyond is good (famous last words). For those dog lovers amongst you - Madge is now wearing a very attrractive plastic "ruff" as she managed to chew off her bandages this morning - she is not a happy canine - and particularly dislikes being called "cone dog". George is playing rugby this afternoon(!) so we're having quite a peaceful few hours catching up on admin. 3 October - High winds and rain this morning, drying off after lunch. The oak trees behind the office (one of which appears on our labels), have been damaged in the storms so we are awaiting the arrival of the tree surgeon to deal with the broken boughs. On the céps front - Sullivan found evidence of rustlers again this morning and all the céps had been picked - he'll be earlier tomorrow and hopefully catch the thief in the act! Madge's bad leg has been stitched and we're hopeful it will heal well, we do seem to spend rather a lot of time at the vet's at the moment!
30 September - Grey but dry today , temperature 23 degrees and humid. The highlight of the day so far has been chasing a "cèpe rustler" off our land! In this region hunting for céps on other peoples' land is fair game and as they command a price of around 20€ per kilo on the local markets, cép rustling is highly profitable! The grape juice from Thursday's harvest is settling out and we hope to start this fermenting on either Monday or Tuesday of next week. 29 September - another 6am start - I really did not want to get out of bed. Today we were bottling red wine for a rush order due to be collected early next week. This went slowly due to problems with sellotape of all things! Also, everyone was really tired and not in the mood for bottling. We finished around 12.30, with another 90 minutes of clean-down, or "RBR" as it is known around here - "rinse, bleach, rinse"! In the chai, the reds and rosé that were harvested last week are fermenting nicely - not too fast, not too slow - again signs of quality are encouraging. It is interesting to note that volumes this year on the reds are reduced from 2005 - this was a planned experiment to identify if lower yields result in an even higher quality red wine. 28 September - Despite thick fog and mist at 6am, we went ahead and harvested 2ha of Colombard - again the new machine belonging to M. Tales did us proud with a lot less debris (stems/twigs etc.) than normal - already the grape juice is settling out and although the predicted alcohol level is lower than I would like, the quality of the juice at this very early stage is encouraging. We had a major set-back at around 9.40am - the "bung" which seals the end of the press collapsed. The bung is comprised of pressed skins, pips, stems and is effectively solid. The tradition is that a vineyard yet to harvest, collects their bung from someone who has already harvested! So, the bung fell out all over the floor of the chai and unpressed grapes and juice were everywhere. We had to stop the press, close off the end, halt the harvesting machine and re-build the bung using freshly pressed grapes with lots of juice - then we were forced to wait whilst this dried out to form a seal. I suspect that Sullivan's knowledge of anglo-saxon swear words has dramatically improved! We finally finished the 2ha at 4pm then spent a further 2 hours cleaning everything down with bleach and water to prevent mould and bacteria forming and maintain as clean an environment as possible in the chai. 26 September - The rain has held off today (yesterday was mixed rain/sunny spells) and good weather is forecast for the next couple of days. I'm planning to harvest half of the Colombard (in front of the house) on Thursday as the predicted alcohol for the remaining Colombard is too low. Predicted alochol levels are established by gathering a random sample of grapes from a row, extracting the juice and using a refractometer - a sort of glass telescope and a drop of the grape juice. It has been widely reported in the local press that areas of Madiran and Saint Mont have been badly damaged by hail over the weekend and crops have been lost - I can only think myself very, very lucky. As we are so far behind with the harvesting, we've cancelled all the scheduled tours and tastings for next week - a real shame as we enjoy showing visitors around the vineyard. 22 September - More rain this morning, cleared by mid-morning and dry since. Some of our neighbours have taken the opportunity to harvest this afternoon and a friend about 10km away will be harvesting some of his white varietals tomorrow as the forecast for next week is mixed. I'm so happy that I did that one, last treatment back in August to protect the vines against botrytis as many of the neighbouring vineyards have been badly affected by mould. I'm still hoping to harvest again in the middle of next week so am keeping everything crossed that we get a few dry days in between. In the chai the reds have begun to ferment and the smell is incredible! We tasted the rose grape juice yesterday morning with some journalists who were visiting - it has superb rhubarb aromas and is already looking promising. 20 September - This mornings' bottling went like a dream so the orders for our UK clients are packed and ready to be collected. The temperature is at 25 degrees so we are hopeful that we can continue with our harvest next week. The grape juice for our rosé wine was left to cold-macerate last night and this morning we removed the skins leaving a beautiful pink-hued juice. 19 September - 8.30am The weather is lots better - dry and due to warm up throughout the day. The machine is due back at lunchtime and we'll start to harvest the red varietals this afternoon. 18.30 I'm ready for a beer but there are still at least 2 hours to go. In a break with tradition, we're using a contractor to harvest as our own machine is now very elderly and not particularly gentle on the vines. The harvesting machine (a Braud for anyone interested) arrived as promised just after 12 and we started working straightaway. Because of the way the Lauroux is laid out, we had to give the driver with a map showing him which rows he was to work on, (varietals Merlot and Cabernet Franc). This being the beginning of the harvest, there's always a bit of a panic as we've all forgotten the "routine" and it takes us a few hours just to get back into the swing of things. It didn't help that the machine drivers' accent was so stong that neither I nor Sullivan (a Frenchman through and through), could understand most of what he was saying - things eventually got done with lots of pointing and "oui, oui, oui" or "non, non, non". The first trailer load of juice is always a bit nerve-wracking as this is when we find out if we were right to harvest or not. Fortunately, today we made the right decision as the forecast degree of alcohol is 12.5. In view of the recent bad weather it's unlikely we'll be doing any more harvesting until the middle of next week.
18 September - I'm sat here in the office listening to the rain outside., I've just called off harvesting for today and the machine has gone elsewhere for the day. I'm hoping we can review things tomorrow as the weather forecast looks better.
6 September - I am very concerned about the weather - yesterday we had brilliant sunshine and a temperature of 37 degrees but today is very humid, 20 degrees with fog and drizzle. I estimate we are between 10 and 14 days away from the start of the harvest so we really don't need hot weather followed by damp as this creates perfect conditions for mould and mildew, the "doomsters" are already predicting a dreadful harvest! This is premature as the vineyard is looking fantastic at the moment and should be able to take a little bit of bad weather without any major upsets. In the chai, things are looking positive - all the wines have passed agrement for the AOC Vin de Pays we are preparing a very large quantity of white wine for a major client and we're doing some work on the red wines - today we're carrying out a "soutirage a l'air" to further open up the aromas and flavours.
We're absolutely delighted that "Guide Hachette 2007" have selected our Floc de Gascogne Blanc so we'll be appearing in the guide very shortly - this is wonderful news for producers of Floc across the region as the product isn't very well known outside Gascony and it deserves more publicity!
3rd August - Temperatures have levelled off a little and we've had a little rain so all in all, better conditions for working. The red grapes are now starting to take some colour - changing from hard, green berries to a purplish/black colour known as "veraison". All our 2005 Blanc has now recieved AOC approval so now we just have the reds to work on. We are catching up on all those essential maintenance jobs prior to the harvest when we need all the equipment to work perfectly! Tomorrow we'll be bottling some of the old Armagnac to fulfil orders from some of our restaurant customers. As the Armagnac here at Lauroux is stored in very old barrels in a very old building, the task is not as glamorous as it sounds - anyone who wants to come and take my place at the end of the plastic tube is very welcome!
26th July - The high temperatures continue along with punishing humidity which makes it very difficult for us to work in the bottling plant. The humidity affects the adhesive on the labels so nothing sticks! We eventually gave in and packed all the bottles into wooden crates and we'll attempt to label them over the next few days so that we can fulfill orders due to be shipped early in August. I spent 2 days in Scotland in the middle of the month, talking to potential customers and spending time with our agent Shane Dunning of Dunning Wines. Shane has an excellent network of contacts across Scotland and we are very hopeful that our wines and Armagnac will be on sale there very soon. In the chai, our greatest concern is keeping the wines cool - the cooling plant across from the office is working very hard under the strain of the high temperatures. More of our wines went for Agrement (the AOC quality approval) late last week and we expect to get a decision within the next couple of days. The local towns have changed beyond all recognition now that the Gers is full of people enjoying their holidays. We are maximising on this by attending the night markets at Vic-Fezensac together with the recent Fete des Vignerons held in Eauze last weekend. These events are a great opportunity to publicise the domaine and of course, to sell some wine! 4th July - The temperatures remain in the high 30's and whilst we've had some spectacular thunder and lightening over the past week or so, we've had no rain. This hot weather coupled with high humidity is providing perfect conditions for mildew and botrytis, both of which could potentially ruin our harvest. Mick and I are checking the vines daily and we've already planned our preventative treatments to counteract the threat. Sullivan has just finished spreading the season's fertilizer throughout the vineyard - on a far lower doseage than is usual - in line with our policy of minimal intervention - Mick's input will continue in this area so expect more news on this over the coming weeks and into next season! To keep up with demand, we are now bottling one day each week (it's lovely and cool in the bottling plant so no-one complains) - this week we're bottling the blanc sec and next week - the very last of our 2005 rosé. Our first stage planning for the harvest has started, we are commencing with vehicle/trailer/equipment overhaul but "latest best guess" for start of 2006's harvest is the beginning of September - feel free to enter the "Lauroux harvest sweepstake" - the winner receives a bottle of our VSOP Armagnac - just mail us with your estimate of which day we'll start our harvest!
Karen spent a few days in Scotland last month and met with several potential distributors - our wines received lots of positive feedback and we are very close to confirming our Scottish agent who will work with us to supply Lauroux wines, Floc and Armagnac in Scotland. I'm off to Edinburgh next week to meet more potential customers so keep your fingers crossed for me as i make a brief return to the world of face-to-face sales!
12th June - I can't believe it is June already and that less than a month ago I was complaining about the rain! The temperatures have now soared into the 30th and the vines are reacting to the moisture and warmth and are growing at an incredible rate. We have almost finished lifting the first set of wires which is fortunate as the wind is very strong. Today Sullivan and I started the first "rogneuse" of the season, cutting back some of the excess leaf growth - as soon as we've finished the rogneuse, the next few days will be taken up with spraying the vines. Feedback from the UK on the 2005 Blanc Sec and the 2005 Rosé has been very positive - we are delighted that you are enjoying our ines with your early English summer! We've added several new customers in the South East of England - these will be added to the "stockists" page very shortly. Our team here at Lauroux has recently expanded thanks to the arrival of Mick Every, an Australian wine maker who will be spending the next 12 months with us in what we hope will be a positive learning experience for all of us. Mick has joined us from Cullen Wines in Margaret River, Western Australia - a 28 ha vineyard certified organic by the Biological Farmers Association of Australia. Perhaps we'll give Mick his own page on the website - then again, maybe not!!!
9th May - We've had so much rain this weekend, I'm sure I saw Noah and his ark sail past down the D122 towards Manciet! Accompanying the rain was one of our famous Gascon storms - spectacular as those of you who've visited the area will know. Now that the rain has disappeared, the sun has returned (20 degrees at the moment, with 25 degrees forecast for tomorrow). Sullivan is out on the tractor for the next couple of days as we've started with the "empamprage chimique" treatment which will prevent growth of new shoots at the base of each vine. We may have to follow this early in June, depending upon the weather/rate of growth with a manual epamprage to remove unwanted growth further up the vine. According to my mother-in-law, the process of "epamprage" is a bit like "pricking out" tomato plants - thanks Val! We've now started the regular spray treatments to protect our vines against the dreaded mildew. At Lauroux, we follow a "low-dosage, preventative course", we'll treat every 12-16 days. If, however, the dreaded mildew strikes, we will up the treatments to each 7-9 days. This of course means extra work and cost in terms of product and labour!
24th April - The weather now is alternating daily between temperatures of 23/24 degrees with clear skies and temperatures of 13/14 degrees and rain. We have started the grass-cutting programme - each cut takes approximately 2 days. We retain grass between the rows of vines to protect our sandy soil from being washed away in one of the famous Gascon storms. The grass is kept short to ensure it doesn't take too much of the precious moisture from the vines as the weather really heats up. All the wires are now dropped and there's lots of new, healthy leaf growth. As this is one of the quietest(!) times on the vineyard we are keeping busy with equipment and building maintenance including the construction of a support wall and draining system around tone side of he swimming pool. I'm off to England this week to attend Planet of the Grapes' 2nd annual tasting at the Great Eastern Dining Rooms - I'm really looking forward to drinking someone else's wine!
17th March - Last week's rain has been followed by temperatures of 15 degrees and upwards. We have started our 2006 programme of desherbage early so that we can keep on top of the weeds - yesterday's treatment went well but today it is too windy to continue - we need to get this finished as any short cuts we take now will punish us later in the year. Today I'm filtering Colombard - it's taking longer than usual unfortunately! Our new Ouvrier; Caillet joins us next Monday - he has many years experience in vineyards across France so will be a valuable addition to our small team. March and April is typically a period of maintenance so the posts holding the wires to support the vines have been checked and repaired or replaced - we have 340 miles of wire to check, repair and tighten plus 12,500 posts. To carry out our maintenance work, we will walk 21 miles - these are the things that occupy my brain whilst I'm watching the filter!
12th March - We have finally finished the pruning - only 2 weeks later than I'd planned so that's an improvement on 2004/05 and proves that the planning I put in place is paying off and we are becoming more efficient. Our worker, Didier leaves us in just under 2 weeks so we are interviewing candidates for his job - even though no-one could possibly replace Didier! The heavy rain continued all last week, we are lucky that the vineyard is on higher ground, our neighbours, closer to the river have flooded fields and it's not safe for any of us to take tractors onto the land at the moment. 3rd March - I've finally received the results of Agrement on the wines I submitted last week - wonderful news - they passed the stringent quality controls and can now be bottled and officially called "Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne". I'm so happy with the outcome as its tough getting wines through - definitely not guaranteed. The wine is needed urgently to fulfill orders being shipped next week (thanks Karen, I will be working all weekend getting them ready). That just leaves bottling the Rose 2005 which I'll start on next week. We are down to the last few rows of pruning our 4 year-old Tannat - this will take longer than with the older, more established vines as more care needs to be taken - I will be so glad when this is finished - it's been a long haul.
16th Feburary - The rain continues, the ground is squelchy mud, so we are having lots of fun reparing machinery instead of paying expensive mechanics to do the work for us. Whether the machines will work later is another matter! The Blanc 2005 samples for Agrement left the vineyard today but I resisted kissing the "sample collector" for good luck. Instead I will keep everything crossed as there are just a few dozen bottles of Blanc 2004 left in the warehouse and we need some white wine to fulfill March's orders. George will be on holiday next week so undoubtedly I will have lots of "help" in the winery!
9th February - The weather is cold and grey with drizzly rain. Lots of trips to the laboratory this week as I prepare the 2005 white and rose wines for "Agrement" (the AOC), towards the end of this month. For each sample I submit, the laboratory at nearby Eauze confirms the degree of alcohol, sugar levels and the chemistry of the wine allowing me to decide how to blend the individual cuves to make the best assemblage. Repair and replacement of broken posts and wires has started alongside the pruning. In 2005, we replaced around 400 posts - fortunately we have invested in a pneumatic "rammer" so we can get this task done quickly.
1st February - The weekends' snow has melted and the temperature has risen a little - the pruners are now becoming bored with the task, fortunately we have just under a month to go before the pruning finishes - by this time they'll have made over one million snips with their secateurs! In the chai, the big freeze in the latter half of January has helped me. Usually I have to take the temperature of the wine down to minus 5 degrees in the refrigerated tank to allow the tartric acid to settle and crystallise. This winter, the extreme cold has meant that 80% of the process has already taken place (a big saving on electricity). I have profited in terms of saved time and have now filtered enough of the various cepages so I can move towards the assemblage for the 2005 vintages of our rose and white wines.
January 2006
26 January - We have finally returned and unpacked our trusty Peugot van after spending several days in London attending the "Vive la France" exhibition at Olympia. Many thanks to everyone who visited our stand - it was wonderful to meet you all - your feedback on our wines, Floc and Armagnac was wonderfully encouraging.,
12 January - Pruning continues and the temperature has risen a little. We've just waved goodbye to the lorry taking 6000 bottles of our wine to Belgium - a great start to the year. We've had several comedy moments this week of which the highlights have to be Didier arriving for work in his slippers! Well, we were bottling all day so why bother putting shoes on? Later that day, around 7.30pm, I heard the crunch of tyres on gravel. The brother of our neighbour (Master of the local hunt), arrived with with a gift - 2 dressed haunches of venison in a large plastic bag - blood, hoof and all!
3 January - After taking 2 days holiday over the Christmas period, we are now trying hard to catch up with orders leaving the domaine this month, prior to the VLF exhibition in London. Filtering continues on the Ugni Blanc (minus 2 degrees in the winery), gradually "cleaning" the wines allows the clarity of their natural colours to shine through. The taste is also purified in the process, my best description of our Colombard at the moment is "ripe pineapple"! We have now pruned 7ha of our 19ha of vines, I am happy with the progress despite the appalling weather. Sitting this morning doing my planning, I realised we are only 9 months away from the harvest!
December 2005
12 December - We are delighted that our 2003 Floc de Gascogne has passed the quality standard "Agrement", it is a light, honey colour, clean and fresh with the warmth of the Armagnac coming through. 5 December - we have 2 bottling sessions this week so lots of time is spent pumping wine from cuves (Blanc today and Rouge tomorrow), printing labels and cleaning equipment. All must be ready for shipment to Belgium later this week - the christmas rush hits Gascony!
November 2005
4 November - finally we harvest the Gros Manseng for our moelleux or sweet wine. The late harvesting of this varietal will give the additional sugar it needs to be "moelleux", whilst still retaining the characteristic fruityness associated with this grape.
21st November, we start pruning the vines, it is bitterly cold and we are further hampered by a strong wind from the Pyrenees. We anticipate this work will continue until at least late February 2006 - oh the joy!
October 2005
We are kept busy with vinification in the winery. As
most of the cuves are full, time is spent constantly checking fermentation levels to ensure twe produce the highest quality wines from our grapes.
September 2005
The harvesting machine and all tractors are serviced and repaired in readiness. Our neighbours and fellow vignerons are taking bets on the first day of harvest. Weekly samples are taken from the
various cepages - regularity will increase as the month progresses. 15 September - harvest begins! We start with the Merlot vines behind the house then continue down the slope to the parcels of Cabernet Franc grapes - so far so good!
August 2005
Temperatures stay in the early 30's so we start our preparation for the harvest and enjoy one of the few quiet periods in vinyeard life.
July 2005
1st/2nd July - the second of our 6-8 weekly "rogneuse" or trimming of the vines to stop the vine becoming too dense. We want to avoid trapping moisture between the leaves as this encourages rot.
June 2005
7 June - wire lifting begins in earnest - all the parallel wires supporting the vines and protecting them from breaking need to be lifted for the new vine growth. It is crucial to raise the new growth to ensure the tiny, new bunches of grapes can breathe, the leaves can photosynthesise
and maximise on the wonderful Spring sunshine. Wire lifting will involve walking 50 miles in total! 28 June - Monsieur Tallis arrives to start the "effeuillage" or leaf removal of the lower canopy on the shady side of each row of vines. Leaf cover is left on the sunny side of each row to ensure grapes don't get grilled.
May 2005
Wire lift on Gros Manseng vines begins - they are our most fragile vines and most susceptible to wind and weight damage. 17 May - Didier and Nick share the 25 mile drive cutting the grass between the vines - thankfully the temperatures are pleasant - 23 degrees.
