CA Grands Crus today published a newspaper-style snapshot of harvest 2015. The highlights of the report, which may be viewed in full here, are outlined below.
Pauillac Château, Grand-Puy Ducasse are ‘genuinely excited about’ the quality of fruit, claiming this the earliest their red grapes have ever ripened.
Meanwhile, in Margaux, Château La Tour De Mons have shown very little signs of withering, ‘unlike the grapes in the neighbouring vines that grow on slightly more gravelly soil.’
Château Meyney in Saint-Estèphe, which anticipates a lower overall yield than 2014, continues to see grapes ‘peacefully’ ripen. ‘We have deliberately let nature take its course between the rows of vines since early August,’ they report. ‘The ground is thus covered with a carpet of meadow grass, clover, purslane, and speedwell, which helped to absorb the recent rain.’
In Sauternes, Château de Rayne Vigneau concluded their ‘promising’ Sauvignon harvest on 1st September, followed by the Sémillon grapes. ‘Conditions were excellent, with alternating cool nights and sunny days – the first round of selective picking for the Sauternes plots took place on 11th September, just before the rain that was forecast for the weekend.’
Clos Saint-Vincent in Saint-Emilion believe things look promising, having avoided heavy rain, and expect to start their harvest no sooner than 21st September.
Médoc property, Château Blaignan note traces of the two violent hailstorms that decimated the property in May-June 2014 are still having an effect. ‘A significant number of buds simply did not open, and in other cases the bunches were much smaller than usual. The result will be smaller yields, but there is a definite potential for high quality.’
In Costières-de-Nîmes, Château Saint Louis La Perdrix report their grapes for white and rosé wines have already been harvested; the reds, however, ‘still need another ten days.’
Finally, Château de Santenay in Burgundy declares the vintage has been characterised by exceptional weather conditions in Mercurey. ‘A sunny spring brought an early flowering, which was followed by a hot, dry summer. Fortunately there was a little rain to counter the almost drought-like conditions.’
