We are coming out of this 2024 season “drained”, literally and figuratively. As you can imagine, the weather this vintage really put us to the test. After a very dry 2023, we were happy that the soils recharged with water during the winter. But the rain never stopped… In more than fifty vintages, my dad had never seen this. It is true that we were combining the signs: 2024 is a leap year, with 13 moons and which ends in “4”… we could/should have known that!
With almost 200mm rainfall in May, the renewal of organic treatments (copper, sulfur, essential oils, plant decoctions) was very complicated. Downy mildew had an open field this spring, reducing the harvest in the meantime. A special year, once again you might say… Fortunately I was able to rely on Jean-Claude, Tristan and my parents, available almost 7 days a week during this intense period.
We can also count on our team of harvesters, who has been more flexible and responsive than ever. This dream team allows us to approach the harvest serenely and constitutes an essential parameter in the final quality of our wines.
Mélanie Pfister
Alsace
January 8, 2025
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This year nature did not help us much. Between unpredictable weather and vines in poor health, harvest was much more complicated than usual. At the end of September, the grapes were not ready, too much plant and malic acid. We decided to wait until October and reduce the harvest to favor more fruity, balanced, and less acidic juices.
Diseases, hail, failed pollination and rot had a big impact on our yields (loss of 35% compared to 2023). But in spite of all of these hassles, we are really proud of the quality of the juices we obtained.
The vinifications were carried out with great care, and the wines are resting quietly in the cellar ready to surprise us in a few months with all the personality of this very special vintage. 2024 will remain a memorable moment for us: a real lesson in resilience.
Agathe Merlin, Domaine Merlin-Cherrier
Sancerre
December 16, 2024
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The 2024 vintage is small and finished quickly. We had a small group of people and put a lot of our own energy into the picking. In the Pauls valley we picked per ha 500l when normally we have 5000l. But it will get us through another year. The frost reduced the yield by 50%.
On the good side the 2024 Riesling wines in the cellar taste already very good. The 2024 Spätburgunder is also exciting. Here we had no frost at all. [Pictured at top: Sybille pruning the Spätburgunder in a winter landscape.
Markus & Sybille, Weingut Sybille Kuntz
Lieser Niederberg-Helden, Mosel
December 8, 2024
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Despite the enormous challenges this year, we had a good harvest. A rainy vintage even during the harvest with a modest harvest, but we are satisfied with the profile. Thanks to an extraordinary team leader and motivated and smiling harvesters, the grapes were carried by great energy!
The harvest always represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. Like life, relationships, the seasons that follow one another.
Sébastien Cornille, Domaine de la Roche Bleue
Jasnières, Loire Valley
November 22, 2024
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The year began with a frost in spring on our vines near the village with some plots 90% affected. Then, the particularly long flowering gave rise to millerandage and coulure on the Chardonnays and Grenaches. The year was rather dry (400 mm) compared to our averages (650 mm) but similar to 2023. On the other hand, the temperatures were milder with few heat peaks which allowed the vines to grow well. The harvest began on Tuesday September 3 and ended on September 27. 49 mm of rain accompanied us and allowed us to maintain interesting degrees, the wind (12 km/h on average over the month) was very present. We are therefore in a short year in volume (around 50% loss) but which will be very qualitative because the sugar/acid balances are superb.
Closerie des Lys
Limoux, Languedoc
November 7, 2024
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Scottish band “Wet, Wet, Wet”, lead singer, Marti Pellow, was said to have been fed up with singing his sensationally popular 1994 cover of ‘Love is all around’ (the most played version of the Trogg’s 1967 hit), as it became inescapable first in discos, then shops, and finally lifts. Rain seemed to be equally unavoidable during the 2024 growing season in the southern Rhone – and more broadly across western Europe.
The rain was accompanied by frost and hail down here to make an unhappy triumvirate, with some producers claiming volumes to be 30-50% down. Thankfully at Unang we were spared the frost (too early in the season for us) and hail, but we certainly had the rain. By early May in 2024 we had exceeded our 2023 annual rainfall (465mm). And as I write, in early November, we have managed to register 825mm for the year to date.
The rainfall underlined that the climate scientists have a fair handle on how temperatures will evolve over the coming decades (depending on their models) but they have no idea – know no more than you or I – on what will happen in the future, or next year, with rainfall. There is evidence of more extreme events (such as in Spain last week) but very little certainty.
Our rain had two principal effects: during flowering caused ‘shatter’ – poor fruit set on the Grenache, and it triggered mildew through the season. Both these reduced the Grenache yields but with little impact on quality. With the Syrah it provoked larger yields (Grenache and Syrah flower at different times, and Syrah is less prone to shatter), with resulting lower alcohol levels. So, despite double the rainfall available, our crop was exactly the same size as last year’s (2023 being hot and dry). Who would have thought it?
The moisture kept temperatures cooler, the figs at Unang were fully one month later ripening than usual. The flow of the natural springs around the château barely slowed during the summer. We started the olive harvest this week and the trees have loved the rain, they are laden with a record crop. We may well have oil to sell at the cave this year.
These cooler years tend to give more subtle and nuanced wine, rather than the concentrated power of the hot, dry years. Glancing back, we tried the 2014 La Croix (in magnum) at the harvest supper. This showed that the acidity profile of the cooler year made for a wine that was elegant, spritely and with longevity. I also had a bottle of our classic white from 2014 last weekend. The Clairette was still all stone fruit and white flowers; and wonderfully fresh. Oddly, 2004 was also cool – and our La Croix from this year still has much fruit flavour to offer now – and at only 14° alcohol.
The moisture meant it was a good season for our complants (replacing missing vines in the parcels). They gleefully soaked up the rain and were less likely to need their weekly watering – only being watered 5 times. It is very difficult to establish the young plant when it typically has two mature, deep-rooted vines either side. And the difference in results for the complants, but even whole new plantations, in wet years versus hot years is dramatic. The levels of successful establishment are nearly 100% in wet years, versus closer to 50% in hot ones.
Among the losers this year were wasps and hornets, there were very few about. They must not have enjoyed the cooler, damper conditions. The pickers were happy not to bump into quite so many of their nests during harvest. (I have recently learnt that the invasive Asian hornets we see are oddly immune to alcohol and can happily consume the calories in fermented fruit juice at well over 30° alcohol with no ill effects*. Handy, and who knew?).
Fewer wasps this year but Unang still boasts formidable biodiversity. And this year we celebrated it with new labels on our classic red (golden oriel, bird), rosé (fire salamander, amphibian) and white (hare, mammal) wines – featuring three of the five animal classes (reptiles and fish feeling left out, for now) seen often at Unang. It felt odd changing what has worked well for the past 20+ years but we wanted colour, a message and found a suitable young artist – in the form of our son.
We continue with our biodynamic treatments as this helps build resilience in the vineyard. The future conditions will be a challenge for the vines so we need to help prepare them for that. We have also continued our regenerative farming, driven by Joanna, with leguminous cover crops sown between the rows of vines. This builds organic matter, adds nitrogen, reduces erosion and soil temperature, amongst many other positive impacts. We should start to see differences in 2025 after two seasons of these complimentary actions.
Once the grapes were harvested there was then a beautiful month of sunny, warm weather from mid-October to mid-November. A shame it didn’t arrive a few weeks earlier. And despite this unseasonably warm weather there is still no sign of the secondary malo-lactic fermentations kicking off in the cave.
JK 6.11.24
*The hornet’s gene supports the production of enzymes that help break down ethanol into components that can then be metabolised. So their behaviour and life-span are not impacted by alcohol – making them unique in the animal kingdom.
James King, Château Unang
Ventoux, Rhône
November 6, 2024
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The harvest finished on October 25th. The grapes profited from several days of sunshine to perfect their maturity. A very small quantity but pretty juice whose must is in the midst of refinement. We are happy.
Laurie Caslot, Domaine de la Chevalerie
Bourgueil, Loire Valley
November 3, 2024
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After a very complicated year, the harvest went well. Not much sorting with good sanitation despite the large quantity of water. What is very surprising is that the vines saw so much water that they adapted to the wet conditions.
The yield is not very good but I am doing well compared to many others. I’m actually very happy with the juices, I think there are some great things to do with them. I had completely correct potential degrees here again, unlike many.
Briefly disappointed with the yield but very nice wines to come, I hope. They are in the cellar now so that’s the main thing.
Benjamin Serer
Vouvray, Loire Valley
October 25, 2024
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We started picking our Chardonnays on September 23. We took the risk of waiting a few days to reach better maturity. But we harvested in the rain, almost every day! Fortunately, our team kept smiling and remained united. From the point of view of the grapes, we do not regret having waited, but the picking was more difficult. The weather forecast did not predict as much rain (74 mm of rain during our 8 days of picking).
Regarding the quantities, we are satisfied. We exceeded the authorized 10,000 kg/ha. We will be able, as every year, to keep only the Cuvée musts (first presses). Our vineyard had no frost or hail damage. We have contained downy mildew globally. Yields per parcel vary greatly, mainly linked to susceptibility to mildew.
A rare fact this year, there was a week difference in maturity between the Pinots and the Chardonnays. In our sector, many winegrowers picked their Chardonnays too early (around 9% vol) and had to chaptalize them. All our grapes exceeded 10.5% vol. and we are proud of it. You had to dare to wait a little.
The alcoholic fermentations went well. They are finished in most vats and barrels. I started to taste a little, but at this stage it’s difficult to form an opinion. Some professionals speak of an exceptional year, of a future vintage. On our vineyard, the grapes were healthy and ripe. The acidity is very high this year and contrasts with previous harvests. This is explained by the cool nights during maturation. Our average total vat acidity is 6.45 g/L H2SO4 and the average pH is 3.03. These will therefore be wines with great aging potential. Tastings over the coming months will confirm this.
Delphine Laborde, Champagne Laborde
Nogent L’Abbesse
October 23, 2024
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We finally finished the harvest this week… tough vintage. Weather was like the rest of year, unpredictable and rainy. Lighter wines, but good wines, pure and fresh. Fermentations are steady so far. And very little Pinot Noir, due to mildew (but we knew that since the spring).
Mélanie Pfister, Domaine Mélanie Pfister
Alsace
October 18, 2024
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The 2024 vintage weather conditions can be summarized as follows:
A mild winter was followed by a warm spring and a very hot summer, in particular from July till mid August. Rainfalls were average till end of April. Both May and June had frequent rainfalls with a total water accumulation above the average for the period. Good rain events after mid August ended the long hot and dry period that started in July. Different rain events occurred from end August through September delaying the harvest activities.
The mild spring led to a significant advance in budding that occurred in early April. The phenological phases were as anticipated such that flowering and fruit set occurred between the end of May and the beginning of June. During the fruit setting phase a few days of temperatures lower than average caused a small reduction of fruit set in a few parts of the vineyards. The good water quantity accumulated in May-June and the continued and accurate soil management allowed us to have vines in good condition during the hot summer. Only the youngest vines suffered a little.
At harvest time the grapes were in great conditions with a bit less juice due to the heat and in some cases with less berries due to the not complete fruit set. At the end we will have around 25% less production than the average. Harvest started at least one week earlier than usual. First bunches were picked at the end of August for the Maltempo. The picking lasted at least three weeks due to some rain that delayed the activities.
First taste gives us the idea that the vintage will be similar to the 2022 one. But it is still a bit too early to judge.
Gabriele Petrini, Tenuta dell’Ugolino
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Italy
October 18, 2024
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We finished harvesting here 15 days ago. No surprises regarding the volumes. Small, given the climatic hazards we’ve experienced. But the good surprise is that, because the vines were lightly loaded with grapes, we achieved good maturity at the right time. So the quality is good. Back to the rain now.
Béryl Saget, Château Marie Plaisance
Bergerac, Southwest France
October 17, 2024
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The harvest is basically finished and the juice is in full fermentation! As far as the crop, it is true that 2024 has a good chance of being a superb vintage. The grapes were beautiful, sweet with good acidity. This year we mostly kept the Pinot Noirs and the Meuniers (which were really spectacular).
As far as quantity, we came out well compared to other French vineyards as well as some in Champagne. However, we still had a loss of about 25% (especially for the part we sell to the négoce). We were able to keep what was necessary for our vinification in view of the growing demand for our wines. Unfortunately, in addition to the difficulties linked to the rain and mildew, we had a large hillside of vines (representing about 1/3 of the total) which froze, which further accentuated our losses.
We are happy and eager to be able to introduce you to our atypical new vintage. 😊
Perrine & Kevin Fresne, Champagne Perrine Fresne
Sermiers, Champagne
October 4, 2024
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Harvest is finished since last week, I’m just finishing cleaning and vinifications. Alcoholic fermentation is done, and the malolactic one is starting. All is fine, enough quantity (not everyone can say that unfortunately)…and quality seems excellent!…But it was quite a long harvest!…quantity was not as big as expected…then we were waiting grapes at press room!
Bertrand Lilbert, Champagne Lilbert-Fils
Cramant, Champagne
October 3, 2024
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A very complicated year of work has just finished with the end of the harvest at the domaine this Saturday, September 28. For this vintage, we had to change our way of working a little in order to be able to save it. And we must consider ourselves satisfied since we managed to make half a harvest and will be able to produce all our vintages, although with sometimes very low yields but impeccable quality.
This is not the case for many colleagues, some of whom have collected almost nothing (between 4 and 6hl/ha) and others have not harvested at all. Unheard of to this day, you would have to go back to the 1950s to find something like this disaster.
Indeed, between frost, hail, mildew and powdery mildew, nothing has been spared. For our part, we managed to protect ourselves from the last two diseases, but unfortunately several hailstorms over more than half of the domaine affected about ten parcels and destroyed 60 to 90% of the clusters.
Fortunately, the 2023 harvest was fully generous.
Didier & Pascal Picq
Chablis, Burgundy
October 2, 2024
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The harvest is going but it’s too soon to tell, it’s quite patchy and the various grape varieties haven’t rendered super homogenous ripeness levels. The climate has been very strange this year with nearly no proper summer. It has also been raining nonstop for the last week+ so we’re trying to harvest in a timely manner.
We’ll keep you updated on the fermentation processes- for now it’s mostly been for crémant and rosé so no news yet for the cuvées. Some Chenin will be harvested by hand, likely starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Kimberly Lecointre
Anjou, Loire Valley
October 1, 2024
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We started our harvest on Sunday, September 15th and ended on September 21st, 7 days of picking. We were lucky to harvest under a magnificent sun !
Quality side:
The grapes were beautiful and good to taste.
The juices during pressing were very aromatic and with a nice acidity. The maturity is optimal with an average of 11% Vol on our entire harvest.
The alcoholic fermentations are ending and the quality of the new wines is incredible.
We are therefore confident about the great quality of the 2024 vintage to be confirmed next spring.
Quantity side:
After several estimates, the rains until the harvest allowed us to gain a few precious grams, mainly in the Chardonnays. Finally our production is 9,000Kg/Ha, we are very satisfied with the success of our organic protection especially in an extremely complicated year. But the production was too low in our plots, so we will not be able to produce the Bout du Clos or La Pierre aux Larrons but most certainly the Millésime 2024.
Antoine Coutier, Champagne RH Coutier
Ambonnay, Champagne
September 30, 2024
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Tomorrow I will put the wines away after pressing, and the yield is really low, on average minus 30/40% volume. I will have a more precise idea at the end of the week. It’s true that we didn’t expect such a drop–in August all the lights were green, but the rainy start of September deteriorated the condition of the grapes. Of course, the flowering in June which came out in the cold and the rain didn’t help.
Laure Jambon, Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes
Beaujolais, Burgundy
September 29, 2024
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Quinta do Tedo’s 2024 harvest started on September 13th, a later date considering that the last 10 years’ harvest start dates have been closer to the beginning of September. Spring was rainy in Douro. Even come early September, the days did not heat up to the past mid-35C/95F norms. Our vines reacted to two four-day heat waves in August by going into heat shock, blocking their photosynthesis pathways, and temporarily halting the grapes’ maturation.
Here at the end of September, we are still harvesting Port grapes (for which we need more ripeness than the grapes we harvest for Douro DOC wines). Recent rain further slowed ripening. And devastating fires kept us on our toes – luckily none came close to Quinta do Tedo, but we mourn for the damage they caused and the lives they took to the North.
But the light at the end of the tunnel approaches – we will pick our last parcel of slower ripening Touriga Franca on Monday and celebrate the end of harvest 2024 with Cook Adelaide’s traditional fritas levadas (cinnamon fritters) and no doubt a glass of Porto!
Unlike many other wine regions, where rain can accompany harvest, deteriorating grape quality and making life miserable for pickers, we’ve had almost pristine sunny harvest weather (save some sprinkles last week).
Stop-and-go harvests like 2024 are logistically complex, but as Viticultural Manager Angelo Ribeiro explains, longer ripening times allow for better phenolic development, especially in quicker-ripening varieties Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz (aka tempranillo). We are excited to taste and share the results!
Kay Bouchard, Quinta do Tedo
Alto Douro, Portugal
September 29, 2024
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Harvest advancing in fits and starts due to weather. Roussanne and Syrah done, will look at Grenache next week. Syrah has an initial ‘cool year’ feel (for me, a good thing), the Grenache I think can still be ambitious. We’ll see…
James King, Château Unang
Ventoux, Rhône
September 27, 2024
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We started harvest on Monday with lousy weather and water every day! It’s horrible–the yields are very small and I think it will be as catastrophic as 2021. We are hurrying to pick the red grapes in order not to have rotten grapes. The whites are holding up well, but we will also hurry to pick them.
It’s a little too early to tell you about the vintage–not much juice at the moment and fermentation is just starting.
Sophie Chardon, Domaine de l’Aumonier
Touraine, Loire Valley
September 27, 2024
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Harvest just ended yesterday, the main takeaway is low alcohol (only between 14 and 15.2 on CDP, 13.5 on CDR) and low quantity (I’ll see after maceration, but I think around 40% less).
Jérôme Mathieu, Domaine de Saje
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
September 26, 2024
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We started the harvest on Thursday, September 12 and finished on Tuesday, September 17 in the afternoon. We were able to harvest in good conditions–the rain spared us, and the temperatures were ideal. The degree of must harvested range from 11.5% vol. on Burgundies, 12.8% vol. for Pommard 1er cru. We will chaptalize lightly, between 0.5 and 0.8% vol., in order to allow slightly longer fermentations and gentler extractions by maintaining fermentation temperatures above 27°c. The pH of the musts collected does not require any correction at the moment, the acidities are good, the quantities of malic acid are high, thus giving the future malolactic fermentation its full meaning.
We harvested between 20 and 25 hectoliters per hectare which brings us closer to half a harvest. I think that a good number of winegrowers are disappointed by this yield, and that we were expecting more volume, me first and foremost. I think we all quickly forgot that flowering did not take place in ideal conditions. In fact, the weather from June 5 to 10 did not allow for good fertilization of the inflorescences, unlike later sectors in which we were able to note a significant difference in the weight and size of the clusters, as in Grandes Terres.
The climatic conditions of the vintage did not favor the volume of the harvest either, in particular with the attacks of mildew and powdery mildew, for which despite all our efforts, we were not able to prevent on the clusters. Gray rot and acid rot were also observed at the end of August, but the low concentration of the clusters allowed moderate development of the outbreaks, so Mother Nature perhaps only offered us what she could ripen… These different diseases forced us to exclude between 10 and 15% of the grapes affected by at least one of the symptoms listed.
Our oenologist must come and taste the musts at the end of fermentation tomorrow. He will give us his feelings, which I hope are positive, and the procedure to follow for the rest of the vinification.
Etienne Chaix, Domaine de Joseph Voillot
Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
September 25, 2024
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We’re waiting for the harvest: crop is amazing this year, big healthy bunches … we expect even to sell some of these babies. There are at least 50 quintals more than we can vinificate! Here is a picture for you from Gattinara where we rent (and hope to buy) a vineyard named “Ossetto,” high and rocky.
Pietro Mascazini, Cantina Gaggiano
Alto Piemonte, Italy
September 25, 2024
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Here harvest is very good thanks to the rain and the cool temperatures we had this summer.
Sarah Frissant, Château Coupe Roses
Minervois, Languedoc
September 24, 2024
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We finished picking on Friday. As we knew and maybe a little more, it will be one of the top three of the smallest harvests we have had in a decade! Fermentation is going well so far, and the juice tastes pretty good… we will do our best to keep it that way.
Xavier de Boissieu, Château de Lavernette
Beaujolais
September 24, 2024
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Here the harvest is well over, but what a short year! 10hl/ha, while we have been working on the vines like crazy for three years. But without water, nothing to do! So we sing and dance while we wait. Moreover, the wines will soon all be in barrels after very good fermentations (surprisingly), and we will now focus on the big ten-year celebration. This prospect delights us!
Lucile Morin, Domaine Paul Meunier
Roussillon
September 23, 2024
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We began harvest on September 2nd, but only the white and rosé. Perfect sanitary condition, small berries, it promises to be a nice vintage. For the reds, we will wait a few more days for optimal ripeness.
Françoise Ollier, Domaine Ollier-Taillefer
Faugères, Languedoc
September 5, 2024
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Lots of mildew but there are still some beautiful grapes. We are staying positive and hoping for a good finish to the season. Harvest predicted for the end of September or beginning of October.
Laurie Caslot, Domaine de la Chevalerie
Bourgueil, Loire Valley
September 4, 2024
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We are waiting for the harvest, which we think will begin around September 20th. The yield will be rather small since mildew was in the vines.
Béatrice Philippon, Château de Fleys
Chablis
September 4, 2024
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A complicated year but we have managed, and we do have a harvest. Now we just need the grapes to mature!!!
Sébastien Cornille, Domaine de la Roche Bleue
Jasnières, Loire Valley
September 3, 2024
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A really beautiful vintage! We have a very good quality of grapes, and the volume is much more normal than the last two years.
Amélie d’Hurlaborde, Mas d’Amile
Terrasses du Larzac, Languedoc
September 2, 2024
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We are slowly preparing for the harvest, which will be later than our two previous vintages. The vines are holding up well and the vintage looks promising.
Pauline Villa, Hugo & Pauline Villa
Saint Joseph, Northern Rhône
September 2, 2024
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We started the harvest on Friday, August 23rd! The mood is mixed: yields are small. The grapes are superb and the musts taste very good, the fermentations have started without any problem so for the moment we are happy anyway. (Low yields because of this second, almost third year of drought and we had hail for the first time on about three hectares in the spring–pictured to left is hail on the road in the vineyard.)
But morale is good, we love to start creating the wines again, it’s always a time of pleasure despite the pressure! We will harvest for another five or six days.
How are you all doing on your side? How does the start of the new school year look like? We kiss you (and your whole team).
Lucile Morin, Domaine Paul Meunier
Roussillon
September 2, 2024
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We started the harvest last Wednesday and it’s picking up steam next week. Growing season has been wonderful and the 10-day forecast looks ideal for ripening! Should align beautifully this vintage, although yields are down slightly.
Ryan Deovlet, Deovlet Wines
Santa Rita Hills, California
August 31, 2024
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We are in full preparation for the harvest. We expect to start between 11, 12 and 13 September. The weather next week announces some precipitation and thunderstorms, so I’m afraid we’ll have to cross our fingers once again. So far, the vines have regained a little color after the latest mildew contamination. The weather has been rather mild since the end of August, and the past week has allowed us to find a little more serenity with warm weather and a little wind.
I am in a hurry to harvest this vintage which has tested us a lot physically and morally, even if for the moment we have escaped the worst. I am still afraid of being disappointed by the volumes harvested–the heat’s effect on the crus and villages and mildew on the villages and Burgundies will not help us.
Still 10 days to go, then a week of harvesting, 1 month of vinification… I hope that the vintage will be good, if so it will be our consolation for all the work.
Etienne Chaix, Domaine Joseph Voillot
Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
August 31, 2024
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The general atmosphere is not really good here, between frost, hail and especially mildew there is not much left to choose from, and we are not out of the woods yet. We still have a few weeks to wait and if the rain comes back, rot could well show up.
We’ll wait until the end of September to take stock. On our side, half a harvest would be the best, and compared to those who have practically nothing to harvest, we are not going to cry about that.
Didier Picq, Gilbert Picq et ses Fils
Chablis
August 31, 2024
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We’re well into the harvest preparations! Predictions are difficult this year, as the grapes are very heterogeneous both between and within plots. It’s atypical. On the one hand, flowering was long in June because of the cold weather, and on the other hand, mildew is responsible for variable bunch weights.
This week, the weather was very fine and ripening accelerated. Yesterday, our Chardonnays averaged 6% vol. alcohol (11.7°Brix) and 17.6 g total acidity (good level).
We expect to start picking around September 17. What’s reassuring is that the nights are cool and we haven’t seen any outbreaks of botrytis. Fingers crossed for the weather over the next few weeks.
Delphine Laborde, Champagne Laborde
Nogent L’Abbesse, Champagne
August 30, 2024
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We plan to start harvesting in mid-September. The seasonal team is growing, which is good! A difficult year for the vines, especially with mildew, we will know for sure in 15 days!
In any case, motivated and ready for this very special period at the end of our summer 😊
[Photo at top of page is harvest in Muscadet chez Domaine Claude Branger.]
Baptiste Meyniel, Domaine Claude Branger
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Loire Valley
August 30, 2024
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This year the harvest is small, but we have some very beautiful vines for sure.
Caroline Depardon, Depardon/Domaine de la Bêche
Morgon, Burgundy
August 30, 2024
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Harvest is coming up quickly, we expect to start around September 16th. We need a few more days for complete maturity.
This vintage has been complicated with the frost in the spring and lots of humidity; we had to wait until August for the sun to come back and stay out.
Jean-Luc Mouillard, Domaine Jean-Luc Mouillard
Nevy-sur-Seille, Jura
August 30, 2024
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Harvest began with the whites last weekend and we will begin to harvest the reds (Syrah) tomorrow morning. Harvest 2024 has started!!
Amélie d’Hurlaborde, Mas d’Amile
Terrasses du Larzac, Languedoc
August 30, 2024
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After some difficult weather conditions, particularly periods of rain, there was heavy mildew pressure throughout the vine’s sensitive period (2-3 leaves to veraison, i.e. mid-August). Like every year, we started the season with organic treatments, but had to supplement with synthetic products from the 5th onwards. I think we saved 90/95% of the harvest with 13 treatments, whereas some organics lost almost everything with 25/30 treatments.
The 2024 harvest is scheduled to start between September 10 and 16, depending on the zone, but ripening is starting very slowly. I think that for us, it will be from the 16th, but it’s still too early to know exactly.
Guillaume Secondé, Champagne Barnaut
Bouzy, Champagne
August 21, 2024
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On fruit, it seems like the usual markers are not quite in place as we approach our departure for the north [vacation in Scotland]. Grenache not yet colouring and the figs not yet ripe with us. A later year? We shall see…
James King, Château Unang
Ventoux, Southern Rhône
August 8, 2024
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Here, it’s finally a real summer! It’s very hot, the cicadas are singing and the grapes are ripening well… A good production is being prepared thanks to a very rainy spring, there are beautiful grapes and now the sun will do its work.
Amélie d’Hurlaborde, Mas d’Amile
Terrasses du Larzac, Languedoc
July 30, 2024