Every year at the same time, just before the start of the harvest, there's a lot of uncertainty. We harvest by hand for two weeks or so, depending on the plot/grape variety and maturity, from the beginning of September to the beginning of October!... So far, on the whole, even though we've had our worries like all winegrowers, there have been no disasters. We have been relatively unaffected by the many extreme events that have hit our colleagues hard, particularly in the Bordeaux and Roussillon regions. However, despite our high-altitude terroirs, the spring rains were insufficient to replenish the vine's useful reserves, and the vines suffered from the summer drought aggravated by the heatwave from August 20 to 24... Even if a few summer rains reduced the hydric stress somewhat.
Rainfall in early September would be particularly welcome to unlock ripening and allow berries to swell.
At this stage, it's very difficult to anticipate what the 2023 vintage will be like. All we can say is that it will be more of a Syrah than a Grenache year. Syrahs developed well this year, whereas Grenache suffered from «coulure de la grappe» at flowering, which didn't allow the bunches to form perfectly. As a result, the Grenaches are more heterogeneous, with very uneven ripeness...
But nothing is decided yet.
To be continued.
