2016 has been a remarkable vintage in the Bordeaux region,  reminiscent of the legendary 1990 in terms of both quantity and quality! It was a challenging year for winegrowers, with a very wet start to the growth cycle (800 mm of rain over the first six months of the year), a very dry period from 1 July to 13 September, and finally localized thunderstorms and a beautiful Indian summer that enabled the grapes to reach optimal ripeness. The red wines are rich, smooth and fruity, with tannins of a rarely obtained maturity and very deep colours. The warm nights during the second half of August were less favourable for the white grapes. However, in the Entre-deux-Mers region where we select our white wines, the cooler terroirs produced perfect balances of alcohol and acidity, and very exuberant aromas.

2015 was characterized by a rather late bud break, and rapid, uniform flowering in superb conditions (very low rainfall and slightly above average temperatures). July was hot (with temperatures approaching heatwave levels between 30 June and 6 July) and relatively dry (20 mm of rain as in 2010). However August was very rainy (90 mm on average) compared to the last fifteen years. The onset of ripening (late July/early August) was fast and uniform. Acidities were the lowest of recent vintages, which was counterbalanced in our 2015 blend by a majority of Sauvignon Blanc. The aromas are complex: a mixture of white and exotic fruit.

The summer of 2014 was rather gloomy, characterized by a lack of sunshine and low temperatures, but then beautiful weather arrived in the entire region in early September and remained for several weeks (until the end of October), saving the vintage. The Indian summer gave the vines optimal ripening conditions, and the grapes reached a balance between sugar, acidity and phenols worthy of a great vintage. The white grape harvest began in early September, the cool nights during August having favoured good aromatic expression, resulting in fruity, fresh, seductive wines.

The 2013 vintage in Bordeaux was characterized by difficult weather conditions. A wet spring resulted in flower abortion and uneven grape size, hail storms then caused important losses, especially in the Entre-deux-Mers region, and there were alternating spells of rain and fine weather until the harvests. It was one of the most difficult vintages of the last 30 years, with the lowest overall yield since the frost of 1991! The great successes are generally among the white wines, which benefited from the fine weather in late August and early September.

2012 was a vintage requiring constant vigilance from winegrowers. After a harsh winter, the cool spring delayed flowering and fertilization was hampered by rain in early June, resulting in flower abortion and uneven grape size, and therefore in lower yields. The damp weather continued into mid-July, but August and September were hot and dry, with a substantial variation between day and night-time temperatures, creating excellent conditions for ripening.

As a result of atypical weather conditions, 2011 was an exceptional vintage with flowering finishing three weeks earlier than usual and a very early harvest.
After a cool, wet July and August, that helped to preserve the aromas of the Sauvignon Blanc (in particular the cool nights), a splendid Indian summer began on 12 September, enabling the red grapes to reach good levels of ripeness. 2011 is what is called a winegrower’s year: a year in which technical management is especially important.

In 2010, the spring season was very favourable for the setting of the fruit. June was quite wet but July, August and September were ideal: sunny days combined with cool nights preserved the flavours, acidity and complexity of the white grapes.
Healthy grapes and a beautiful late autumn enabled us to harvest unhurriedly in ideal conditions. 

2010 promises to be an historic vintage in Bordeaux both for red and white wines!