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Château Rouquette

September 2008:  Bye, Bye Bling - 2008, A Harvest for the Times

With stockmarkets and economies collapsing, the last thing Bordeaux needed was a bumper harvest. In fact, it looks as though yields are way down – certainly, we have the lowest yield since we bought Rouquette in 1997 and approaching half of last year. Fortunately, the quality, especially for the Merlot, is miles better than we could have dreamt of just two months ago

It is likely that the economic crunch will mainly hit the top end of the Bordeaux market. If there is a silver lining in the economic crisis, it is that the unattractive, maldistribution of income over the last decade, caused by the financial bubble, will unwind. This is likely to reverse the previous boom in “luxury” goods. Certain icon wines in Bordeaux were caught up in this frenzy at a time when most vineyards struggled to survive.  It is likely that this gap will close. But that is another story! For the bulk of Bordeaux, aside from the icon wines, the low yield in 2008 will result in inventories declining and firm prices, despite the economic slowdown. This will continue the trend begun in 2005, which we looked at in our previous newsletter.

Bordeaux 2008 – Like 2002?

For Bordeaux as a whole, the weather in 2008 has many similarities to that in 2002. The temperature during the growing season was almost identical at a cool 17.7°C. The rainfall in August and September was the same, with the miracle of the hot dry few weeks leading up to the harvest. Like 2002, the 2008 will be one of the lowest yields.

Apart from a near tropical downpour on 8 October, we had almost no rain from mid August through to the end of our harvest. This saved the vintage and has produced alcohol levels of around 13° for the Merlot and 12.5° for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Although September was unusually cool (16.9°C compared with an average 18.9°C), the nights were very cold but the days clear and sunny - ideal weather as it stopped rot developing.

Rot has been a lurking worry since May. Rainfall during that month was double the average and with warm temperatures mildew developed. Effective treatment stopped it spreading and the generally dry summer kept it under control. It has been a second year of challenging conditions in the vineyard.

2002 was a good year but not a great year for Bordeaux. However, even if the 2008 develops like the 2002, there is a good reason why, relative to normal years, Rouquette will be much better than Bordeaux as a whole.

Rouquette’s Dry Micro-Climate

We have commented before about the special climate at Rouquette. Over the last eight years we have had 25% less rain than Bordeaux (this is a subject we will return to in a future newsletter). In the summer of 2008 this difference was particularly pronounced:

 It can be seen that although we experienced the same high rainfall as Bordeaux in May, subsequently we had less than half Bordeaux’s rain. As in 2005, this kept the vines stressed and is likely to contribute to the quality of the vintage.

We began harvesting on 3 October: our latest date so far. (the previous latest year was 2004, when we started on 1 October). The excellent weather allowed us to wait the crucial, extra days that brought the Merlot to maturity. We finished on 20 October – quite a quick harvest because we have half the vats empty because of the low yield. The Cabernet Sauvignon was more difficult to bring to maturity. The acidity levels remained stubbornly high and because of the lack of rain the leaves began falling. Fortunately, the 17mm of rain we had overnight on the 8^th October seemed to give the vines the nudge they needed and acidity level suddenly tumbled.

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc have finished the alcoholic fermentation and we are just waiting for the three vats of Cabernet Sauvignon to finish. The leaves have now turned golden and in the morning the mist hovers above the little Dureze River, at the bottom of our valley. Apart from pumping over the wine twice a day and then pressing the skins, we have a rare gap in the vineyard work. However, in a few weeks when the sap is falling, we will begin the long winter job of pruning.

 Michael Banton

28^th October 2008