Picking Chenin Blanc with Frédéric Mabileau

We picked golden bunches of Chenin Blanc like this leaving the green ones to ripen

We drove across to Le Puy Notre Dame today to do part of a morning's picking with Frédéric Mabileau and family along with various friends out to help do the 1er tri (selection) of Chenin Blanc destined for their Saumur Blanc. The instructions from Frédéric seemed clear: pick only the golden bunches and those with a lot of noble rot developing. Unfortunately the practice is less easy: many bunches were golden on the sunny side but fairly green on the other more shaded side.

Frédéric Mabileau

We picked for between an hour and half – two hours and weren't sorry when we stopped as sustained grape picking is pretty back breaking. We did get a good bonus – a picnic lunch in the vineyard largely prepared by Odette Mabileau, Frédéric's mother. At least three trailer loads were picked today with the grapes coming in at 14%.

Emptying grapes into the trailer

The second and final tri will be done in about ten days time depending upon the weather.

More photos of the pickers

The grapes were generally very clean with noble rot starting to develop

Annie showing off a bunch with noble rot developing

Rémy Mabileau

Odette Mabileau

Jean-Paul Mabileau

Jean-Paul cutting a selected bunch – part raisins dorées and part with botrytis developing

CRM

Pickers emptying grapes into Thomas Meunier's hod. Until July Thomas used to look after the commercial side of the domaine. Love has drawn him to move to the USA and he is now living in North Carolina.

Frédéric emptying his hod

Picking finished it's time to get the picnic lunch, mainly prepared by Odette, laid out