Chêne Bleu 2017 – Vintage Report

MOTHER NATURE PUMMELS VINEYARDS ACROSS THE GLOBE

It was a year that had most vineyard managers on the edges of their tractor seats. From all parts of the viticultural globe, events seemed to devastate vineyards: from calamitous wildfires (the US, Portugal and Spain - the repercussions of which are tragic beyond belief and not appropriate for the scope of a light-hearted blog entry) to the worst frost incidences seen for decades (across France, the UK, Switzerland, Germany and others), hail, and heatwaves/ drought over much of Southern Europe. Winegrowers’ plight even made the national news in many countries, with the proclamation that the 2017 harvest across Europe was likely to be set for ‘an historic low’.

WHAT CHALLENGES DIDN'T WE HAVE IN THE RHONE?

By those standards, we got off lightly. The Ventoux region was down about -35% on average, Chêne Bleu about -38%.  It was, by all accounts, still a very chaotic year in the Rhône: a warm winter followed by a rainy spring, we got struck by two deep frosts (with lots of buds burnt).  At our vineyard we were whacked by two episodes of hail – thankfully, nothing too, dramatic - but we did have issues with coulureand millerandage, especially with our Grenache, which is naturally very susceptible to both, unlike Syrah  and later ripening varieties like Mourvèdre. Summer was extremely hot and dry – we got hit hard by the ‘Lucifer' heatwave.

WHITES BORED BY BOARS

The heat wave was disrupted to the local fauna as well, and thirst drove our boars into the vineyard for their worst attack to date:  a few years ago, we set up a little shaded  muddy "Spa" area for them by the pond, and this usually was enough to keep them out of the vineyard.  But this year they were so desperate for water that they attacked our whites to quench their thirst, and our Viognier ended the year down 70%.  Other vignerons reported similar incidents: perhaps a tasty vintage year for wild boar saucisson?

Thankfully, some showers later on in the summer helped save the reds from a similar fate....

For those who want a little more information on the health of each of our varieties:

Grenache

Yield -11%; excellent quality with nice aromas. Rosé is already tasting very good. Reds are deep black in colour and rich/ round taste.

Syrah

Yield -55%; excellent, rich black berries notes, big structure

Viognier

Yield -70% (boar attacks)

Roussanne

Yield -55%; very rich aromas and nice gentle structure

Marsanne

Yield -55%; very rich aromas and nice gentle structure

Cinsault

Yield -11%; excellent quality with nice aromas.

Rolle

Yield -45%; very delicate and floral aromas, round into mouth

Mourvèdre

Increasing yields (it’s only the 2nd year production); fresh red fruit aromas, nice structure but not yet ‘big’

We picked a week earlier than usual (we usually start about a month later than our neighbours in the valley); winter was so warm that bud break came early, pushing everything forward by several weeks while also making these early, fragile shoots more at risk of frost (which is why so many had serious issues this year). In fact, many people are saying that the 2017 vintage was one of the earliest in recent memory for the Rhône!

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All in all, losses from problems at fruit set, frost and drought resulted in some producers from the Southern Rhône reporting that they were down as much as 50% compared to 2016 (which was, admittedly, a large vintage for many). In the end, though our average yield might be a measly 20 hl/ha this year (1/3 to 1/2 our target), the quality is really quite exciting: total acidity is perhaps a little lower than in an average year, and sugar maturity a little higher, but what we've tasted so far has been gorgeous and balanced, with superb phenolic ripeness and complexity.

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It might seem instinctual to equate low yields with conservative winemaking, but we didn’t let 2017 put a damper on our creativity: we still have lots of experiments in the works in the winery this year. Jean-Louis bought tworotary fermenters to produce a semi-carbonicwhole bunch Mourvèdre; we co-fermented the rest of the Mourvèdre with some of our Grenache. This year also saw the caveau team inoculating tanks without rehydrating, which we’ve found has helped start the fermentation earlier (the following day after encuvage, even during cold maceration!), ensuring a cleaner fermentation and guarding against the possibility of microbial spoilage.

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Even if we made less wine this year… we’ll at least have more vines very soon! We’ll be planting more Syrah and more Rolle (Vermentino) over the coming year.

A TOAST TO 'TINY BUT TASTY'

In the end… quality-wise, Jean-Louis has termed 2017 a “blessed” vintage, with strong ferments and wonderful organoleptic complexity. Our Rosé, coming out in Spring next year, will be the first showcase of all that there is to love about this 'bijou' – so watch this space!

Great Grenachy Greetings,Nicole & Team Bleu