Like the 2020 vintage, the 2021 vintage began with a rainy winter, but that is where similarities between the two end. 2020 was characterized by a precocious growth cycle overall, whereas 2021 followed a much more traditional timetable despite an early start to development.
Atypical, unpredictable, and fluctuating weather conditions throughout the season set the tone for the vintage, and our teams met these challenges with constant vigilance and exacting methods in the vineyard.
The growing cycle was characterized by rapid bursts of growth that alternated with a more leisurely pace: early bud break was followed by cool weather that slowed development, and a sudden rise in temperatures in June led to a flurry of growth. In the latter case, our teams demonstrated their inimitable adaptability by lifting the entirety of the estate’s one hundred hectares of vines in under a week to proceed with leaf thinning as quickly as possible.
Undertaken very early on, leaf thinning allowed us to ward off any risk of disease throughout the summer while providing ideal conditions for ripening. Particularly crucial for the 2021 vintage, it was pursued late into the season—in a very targeted fashion on certain plots—until warmer temperatures allowed the estate’s grapes to reach perfect maturity in September.
And as the estate’s grapes were harvested, our gravity-flow cellars once again demonstrated their outstanding capacity for preserving their full potential by facilitating gentle manipulation.
