2017 Loire vintage: Muscadet – pickers in action: Jo Landron + Vincent Caillé: 12th September

Jo Landron's equipe

 

Garrett heading up the ladder to the trailer

Garrett starting to upload

 Garrett: last few grapes 

 Another hod carrier – you have to be strong

 Jo Landron picking Montils

 Jo Landron's team were picking Montils, a grape variety 

that is apparently similar to Ugni Blanc.

Jo uses it as part of the blend of the sparkling l'Atmosphere

Vincent Caillé's equipe:

 

FI ready for action....

Checking over the grapes 

Loire 2017: very meagre harvest in parts of Muscadet

Christelle Guibert and Vincent Caillé pruning in the 

Terre de Gneiss parcel in early February 2017

Today I heard about the 2017 harvest from Christelle Guibert, one of the partners in Terre de Gneiss that comes from a small vineyard in the commune of Monnières. 

In 2016 the harvest from this parcel was tiny – hit by frost and then badly affected by the worst outbreak of mildew in the Loire in many people's living memory. 

Unfortunately the late April frost struck here again this year (2017) seriously affecting yields. The Terre de Gneiss parcel was harvested on Tuesday (5th September) yielding only a miserable 7 hectares per hectare. This means that there are not enough grapes to go into their egg fermentation vat this year. 

I will be in the Pays Nantais on Monday for a couple of days, so will report further on how the 2017 vintage is going. 

Vincent Caillé's reaction 

to the 2017 April frosts    

April 2017 – frost in the Loire: Vincent Caillé (Muscadet) sums it up

For the second successive year the Loire has been hit by a series of late April frosts. It is still too early to be precise about the scale of the damage. Unfortunately producers may face another potential frost early tomorrow morning, although Méteo France suggests otherwise.

There will be time in a later post to report more fully on the effects of these frosts. For the moment Vincent Caillé's Facebook post sums it up perfectly!

My thoughts are with producers in the Loire, Bordeaux, part of Germany – indeed anywhere threatened by the frosts. 

Vincent Caillé during the 2013 vintage

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine

Vincent with Christelle Guibert pruning

in Terre d'Gneiss: February 2017

Pruning a Muscadet 'Grand Cru': Terre de Gneiss

Christelle Guilbert (Decanter magazine) and Vincent Caillé, 

her partner in the Terre de Gneiss project, 

deep in a pruning discussion

This morning we dropped in on the first day of pruning at the famous Terre de Gneiss in the small Nantais village of Monnières. Pruning vines is far from the sexiest job in the vineyard, although it is certainly the longest and one of the most crucial. The annual pruning will determine not only how your vines will grow in this year but also next year and perhaps further on. Pruning old vines is especially delicate, so no wonder there were intense but friendly discussions over what to cut and what to leave on the more problematic vines. 

Christelle – time to make the cut

Vincent trying the dessicated 2016 grapillions

(3rd generation grapes which are left on the vine 

at harvest because they are not ripe)

Ben Llewelyn given carte blanche to prune

The loneliness of the long distance pruner

 

More intense discussions 

Tension mounts .......as time to make the crucial cut nears.... 

Ben with Mick O'Connell

 Pruner using electric secateurs – expensive but 

saves the joints from rheumatism but they have to be handled carefully!

The de rigueur Vendée Globe pruning jacket.....

La Pause.... time to drink a cru Muscadet

2016 Loire harvest – when will Muscadet start?

 2010 harvest in Muscadet 

Frost and severe attacks of mildew 

likely to make 2016 less joyous

Melon de Bourgogne 

August has shaded into September, so it is time to start making plans for covering the 2016 Loire harvest. Of course in some years like 2003 and 2011 picking would have already started. However, we knew already that as this year's flowering didn't happen until well into June that picking wouldn't start until well into September.  

July and August have been very hot and dry in the Pays Nantais, which may have allowed the grapes to catch up a little. However, if it gets too hot the vines tend to shut down, so grape maturation can actually slow. 

Weather stats from Météo France (Nantes)

July 

Maximum temperatures:

Average: 25.2˚C compared to 24.8˚C norm (1990 to 2010)  

Highest max temperature: 36.6 (19th July)

Rainfall:

5.8 mm compared to 45.9 mm norm (1990 to 2010)  

Record lowest – 5.5 mm (1967)

Sunshine hours:

248.6 hours compared to 213.7 hours norm (1990 to 2010)

Record highest: 2003 with 295.5 hours in 2003

August 

Maximum temperatures: 

27.5˚ compared to 24.8 norm (1990 to 2010)  

Rainfall: 

11.6 mm compared to 44.1 mm norm (1990 to 2010)  

Record lowest: 0.4 mm (1955)

Sunshine hours:

299.3 hours compared to 226.8 hours norm (1990 to 2010)

Previous record 292.3 hours (2003)     

•••

Expected harvest dates:

Christelle Guibert/ Vincent Caillé: Vine Revival – Terre de Gneiss 

Christelle expects that they will start picking around 22nd September 

Sabine – Domaine Luneau-Papin: no definite date yet but towards the end of September.     

  

 

2016 RAW (London) – some photos from Sunday

 The famous varietal Laurent Herlin (Bourgueil)

(above and below) 

Baseball Bourgueil......

Eric (Pascal et Beatrice Lambert) says "It's time to taste Chinon!"

Vine Revival: Vincent Caillé et Christelle Guibert 

A relaxed Fred Niger (Domaine de l'Ecu) 

Wendy Paillé

Sylvain Fadat (Domaine D'Aupilhac)

Fabio Bartolomei

Vincent Wallard – showing a Chinon his first French wine 

 Brett Jones going cabin-luggage to Vienna?

 Setting up the Victualler/RAW shop

 The Little Bread Pedlar