This year, the frost forced us to carry out extraordinary selection within the plots, meticulously marking the vines affected by frost and those that had been spared, and this continued until the harvest, which required intricate sorting. A classic maceration of 30 days and promising blends in January have confirmed our impressions of a vintage with balance between great aromatic freshness, quality of tannins and length.

This year, the frost forced us to carry out extraordinary selection within the plots, meticulously marking the vines affected by frost and those that had been spared, and this continued until the harvest, which required intricate sorting. A classic maceration of 30 days and promising blends in January have confirmed our impressions of a vintage with balance between great aromatic freshness, quality of tannins and length.

The year began with mild, rainy weather, and then gradually, as the months passed, proved to be exceptional.
The winter of 2016 was the warmest and rainiest ever recorded. Bud break took place at the end of March and mid-flowering was on 5th June. The summer was hot and very dry. Fortunately, the water reserves accumulated during the winter helped the vines not to suffer from any stress, but as a result, yields at l’Evangile were quite low for this vintage. The grapes finished ripening in September in clement weather, with a little rain and cool nights, preserving the grapes’ freshness and producing an exceptional vintage.

Conditions during 2015 were ideal. After a fairly mild winter, the vines’ growth cycle started normally in early April. Spring brought fine weather with gentle temperatures and relatively little rain. Flowering was fast and uniform, promising a plentiful harvest. The summer was magnificent with well-above average temperatures in July and light showers just when they were needed, creating conditions in which the vines were able to flourish. A very hot August was followed by a superb September. Some rain arrived just before the harvests, allowing the grapes to reach a perfect state of ripeness, and making this a truly exceptional vintage.

Thanks to a mild, rainy winter, the vines’ growth cycle started two weeks earlier than the average for Bordeaux and bud break was in mid-March, which is unusual. A warm April was followed by a cool, wet May with occasional spikes of heat. Flowering at the beginning of June was very satisfactory and promised an early, high quality vintage. Alternating periods of rain and warmth then slowed growth and much of the advance was lost; July was cold and wet, August was cloudy and fairly cool. From the end of August, the region experienced an “Indian summer” with hot, dry weather until the end of October. It was the warmest September recorded for nearly a century…
As a result, the grapes were able to ripen gradually during September and October in the unusually mild conditions and the harvest was of excellent quality.

2013 was a complex year that generated a great deal of work in both the vineyard and the winery! The beginning of the year was cold and wet, resulting in a mixed flowering and significant quantitative losses due to flower abortion and uneven grape size. The summer then arrived with very high temperatures (over 43°C) and their natural consequence, i.e. very violent thunderstorms, that fortunately did not cause any damage to our vines. The grapes progressed very quickly, developing density. From the end of first week of September, the variable weather returned, with a mixture of very fine warm periods and rain storms.

A complex year with a lot of ups and downs! The beginning of the year was difficult with periods of intense cold and humidity, resulting in a mixed flowering and significant losses in terms of yields. The beginning and the middle of the summer saw some fine sunny periods but also brought high levels of humidity. Fortunately, conditions in August and September were excellent which enabled the grapes to ripen very satisfactorily, and to present good potential. Due to rain, the harvest was spread over three weeks; this was unusual, but ultimately gave satisfactory results. 

2011 was characterized by a very dry winter and start to the spring. Barely 150 mm of rain during the first five months of the year: a record! High temperatures in April, May and June caused the vines to grow very quickly, resulting in the first flowers appearing remarkably early, at the beginning of May!
A cooler July gave the vines a chance to rest a little before an exceptionally hot August (with an average temperature of 31°C for the month). The grapes were harvested two weeks earlier than usual, and were of excellent quality with superb tannins. The Merlot was rich and dense, but the low rainfall during the summer seriously reduced yields. The Cabernet grapes were small, with thick skins, but of very good quality.

After a fairly wet winter, the fine weather arrived to stay in April. Conditions were ideal: hot and dry, with water reserves maintained by a few rainy spells in June and September, while high temperatures combined with cool nights enabled the grapes to ripen slowly and steadily.
The Merlot and Cabernet were thus excellent in terms of quality, but slightly lower in quantity compared to previous years due to the lack of rain during the summer. This is a very high quality vintage with beautifully ripened grapes and excellent expressions of tannins.

After a complex start to the growth season due to persistent damp conditions, fine weather finally arrived to stay at the end of June. The summer was hot and dry, punctuated in July, August and September with periods of light rain that prevented any water stress from developing. Fairly high day time temperatures combined with fine cool nights favoured slow ripening.
The Merlot developed very full flavour, with levels of ripeness and potential alcohol that are rarely reached.The Cabernet Franc grapes remained rather small with thick skins, which reduced the volume of the harvest but had a very positive effect on the quality, with excellent levels of ripeness and expression of tannins.

After a grey, wet spring, resulting in a late, problematic flowering (a huge amount of fruit failing to set, explaining the very low yield of 27 hl/ha), we had a dry, sunny July. An overcast August helped to preserve a fine freshness before wonderful weather in September and October enabled the grapes to fully ripen.

After a cold damp winter, the high temperatures in March and April were good for the start of growth. This was followed by a long, mild, grey period, without extremes, which lasted until August. These conditions required increased supervision of the vines. The good weather stabilised at the beginning of September, enabling the grapes to ripen in peace. This vintage was characterised by a year of 13 lunar cycles and a longer than usual growth season.

The mild spring was followed by lovely weather in July and quite a cool August. These conditions resulted in ripe grapes with lots of freshness. At the beginning of September the sun came back in full strength to bring the phenolic maturity to a perfect finish.

The 2005 vintage will be remembered for the exceptional weather conditions, that were very rare for the region! A mild spring and cool June enabled the grapes to keep all of their freshness, while  July, August and September brought high levels of sugar and polyphenols.

The 2004 vintage was marked by moderate rainfall in the winter, lots of rain in spring and a dry cool summer. The end of the season was superb, with fine dry weather in September and October resulting in remarkable phenolic maturity in the grapes. When tasted during the primeurs campaign, this vintage was fresh, fruity and intense with spicy notes and a hint of menthol.

The vintage owes its particular characteristics to the heatwave during the first fortnight of August, with temperatures above 40°C, combined with low rainfall throughout the growth cycle.

It was a paradoxical year in terms of climate, with average weather over a long period but than ideal conditions as the grapes finished ripening. July and August were rather cool months, but fortunately September was superb, with dry, sunny weather that accelerated the ripening process. The harvests were carried out from 25 September to 4 October in the sunshine without a drop of rain.

2001’s weather was surprising in its unusually long growing season, which pushed harvesting back to October, after flowering had taken place at the normal time. We had to be particularly patient in verifying that the grapes had fully ripened. The harvest took place between 25 September and 9 October, under sunny skies. 

A very hot August brought the century to a close with an early harvest. The first Merlot grapes were picked on 15 September, and the Cabernet Franc from 27 September, in pleasant, mild weather. The excellent degree of ripeness of the grapes enabled a very supple, fruity Blason de L’Evangile to be produced, in a similar style to its more distinguished sibling. 

The Merlot was harvested when it was ripe, just before the rain at the end of September, whereas the Cabernet harvest was complicated by the wet weather. Blason de L’Evangile 1999 has a higher proportion of Cabernet and is less dense than the Château L’Evangile, but nonetheless has a superb structure which promises to age well.

After uniform  flowering and a beautiful July followed by a hot, dry August and a few welcome thunderstorms in early September, the vintage suffered from rain during the harvests. As it is often the case, the Merlot grapes were relatively unaffected.