In the Languedoc, after a mild winter and a cool spring, temperatures rose, reaching a peak throughout the region at the end of June; this was followed by a hot summer. Fortunately, Aussières escaped the drought and the heatwave thanks to its ally the wind; in particular from the south-east: the “Marin” which brings just the right amount of moisture for the vines’ growth. Finally, some rain at the beginning of September enabled the grapes to reach the desired levels of ripeness.
The Carignan, Mourvèdre and Grenache benefited the most from these conditions and in this vintage reveal superb freshness and aromatic intensity.

In the Languedoc, the cold, wet winter, very wet spring, and substantial rain in June, brought the benefit of well-replenished groundwater reserves, and the inconvenience of rampant mildew that affected certain areas in the region.
Thanks to a very hot summer punctuated by regular, short spells of rain, accompanied by dry air and favourable temperatures with a marked difference between day and night-time temperatures, the characteristic of the vintage that will be most remembered is the exceptional quality of the harvest.
This propitious weather enabled the grapes to be picked at optimal ripeness. 2018 has all the characteristics of a fine vintage, at Aussières and in the Languedoc.

This unusually wet start to the season was followed by some major climate incidents: the Languedoc experienced two frosts of a severity that had not been seen in the region for more than 25 years, which destroyed hundreds of hectares of vines. Nearly a third of Aussières’ vines were affected and, for some of these, were completely destroyed.
In the areas not affected by the frost, the vintage was of very good quality, balance between temperatures and rainfall was close to the very good 2015, with a fine vegetative expression starting from budbreak up to maturity and through the flowering season. Weather conditions were then exceptional during September until October allowing to reach a great level of maturity on all grape varieties with great aromatic expression and good balance on the parcels.

As in previous years, the weather varied enormously over the Languedoc region. The nearby Mediterranean coastline was strongly impacted by low rainfall, not only during the winter but also during the growing season.

However, this very special vintage enabled a good expression of the vines throughout the growth cycle, from bud break to flowering and the ripening stage. Proof that the combination of our cool terroir and plots that are now reaching maturity, was able to able to meet the challenge provided by this vintage’s atypical weather conditions.

Against all expectations, the constraints imposed by the climate enabled excellent levels of ripeness to be achieved for all our vines, with beautiful aromatic expressions and good balance for all plots, from the first to ripen through to the last.

As in previous years, the weather varied enormously over the Languedoc region. In the north, there was heavy rain at the end of the summer, while in the Narbonne area, further to the south, there was hardly a drop of rain over the same period.

At Aussières, the weather provided ideal conditions for the vines throughout the growing season, from bud break, through flowering and ripening.

Thanks to these consistently good conditions, all of our plots were able to reach optimal ripeness, offering excellent aromatic expression and perfect balance for all varieties: from the early-ripening Chardonnay to the later-ripening Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Languedoc underwent marked disparities in terms of climate, particularly regarding rainfall, which impacted each production zone differently. The northern and southernmost parts of the region tended to receive an excess of rain, while the central area suffered from a shortage.
Even within Aussières’ vineyard, this year’s weather resulted in an unevenness between the various terroirs and grape varieties.
Despite very different conditions from the previous vintage, 2014 presents some similarities in terms of the balance of the wines, with good levels of extraction, lovely aromatic finesse and plenty of freshness.

The Languedoc was spared the vagaries of the weather that affected France’s other wine-producing areas, but 2013 was still an usual year in terms of climate.
The abundant rain in the autumn of 2012 enabled the accumulation of substantial water reserves, ensuring a good start to the growth cycle. With fairly typical temperatures for the Languedoc, the winter of 2013 was mild and not very rainy, in contrast to the cold, wet spring. July and August were sunny and hot, enabling the vines to partially catch up after the slow start to the growth cycle.
A rather cool, dry September and October permitted a slow ripening of the tannins, and helped preserve the freshness all of the grape varieties.

The winter of 2012 was characterized by the long period of cold weather that dominated February, with 12 consecutive days of subzero temperatures, and minimum values very rarely seen in the region (approaching -10°C). The particularly dry winter led to fears of a water deficit, but March, April and June brought plenty of rain and prevented any significant water stress. The summer period benefited from normal temperatures and rainfall. The only problems for this vintage occurred late in the season, with a rather cold September that ended with a stormy period. However, this did not affect the quality of the Chardonnay, which was harvested during the first week.

2011 began with a rather cold winter with significantly low rainfall and varying amounts of sunshine. In the spring, unlike other wine producing areas in France, the Languedoc had regular rain. Temperatures on the mild side accelerated the growth cycle, resulting in an advance of nearly 15 days by the start of the summer.
However, this advance gradually disappeared during June and July, which were characterized by several cold periods. Rain during the summer enabled sufficient water reserves to be maintained for the grapes to change colour and ripen without any problems. The entire 2011 harvest period was accompanied by exceptionally warm autumn weather.

The winter of 2010 was cold, with several waves of very low temperatures.
The mild weather in April contrasted with the coolness in March and even more so with May. During the latter, low temperatures, rain and snow delayed the growth cycle of the early varieties. The hot summer with very little rain did not allow them to catch up.
Despite a very wet May and regular – but limited – rain during the winter, rainfall for the year was lower than usual in 2010. The “freshness” of the Aussières terroir greatly helped the vineyard to cope with the dry period but the harvests took place ten days later than in 2009.

Weather conditions were rather mixed in the Languedoc. A fairly rainy winter ensured good water reserves and mild temperatures during April and May encouraged growth. The Klaus storm passed in January 2009 causing damage in several parts of the region with winds reaching 110 mph (180 km/h), but fortunately the vineyard at Aussières was spared. High temperatures in the summer accelerated the ripening of early varieties like Chardonnay.