Burgundy Harvest Blog 5 - September 28 - Finally sunshine after all that rain

Finally sunshine after all that rain. It has been a very rainy harvest season in Burgundy. Honestly you could say that we had not seen a cloud which did not rain on us for the last five days until yesterday.bIn Gevrey-Chambertin, it has rained in all of the last five days except today which is a remarkable difference to last years harvest where it rained in only one day.

Only light rain showers yesterday though when we harvested Chambertin-Clos de Beze grand cru. The grapes were good with only limited selection in the vineyards was needed. In each of the grand crus harvested thus far, the quality and health of the grapes is higher than in village appellations, which in addition to the terroir aspect speaks for the higher market price of the products. The raw material is just better. 

However the real story of the day is the quality of Drouhin-Laroze's grapes for the entry level Bourgogne red. The grapes used in the wine were in such good health that people in the winery were astounded with the quality, which rivaled that of grapes from grand cru vineyards. The domaine's 2012 Bourgogne red should be kept in mind when released.

Today it was beautiful sunshine the whole day. Also part of yesterday when Clos de Beze was harvested. Tomorrow we will harvest the last remaining grand cru, Latricieres-Chambertin and the premier cru of Lavaut St. Jacques which is among the coldest premier crus in Gevrey-Chambertin and thus usually harvested among the last vineyards harvested in the appellation, for allowing grapes to mature the longest. 

Tomorrow is the last day of harvest and the harvest-ending party with the team. This years harvest was 10 days.