2022 vintage
The winter was mild with normal quantities of precipitation.
Once again the early April frost threatened our vineyard as temperatures dropped to -4°C, yet only over a short period at sunrise which prevented the frost from setting in. We also changed our pruning method to ancestral pruning at two different times, thus postponing the final pruning for one month to shift the bud break on the vines.
Flowering started at the end of May, on the 26th. The process took 10 days with cool temperatures in the mornings and permanent winds, causing millerandage grape fertilization problems.
This spring and summer will remain in the annals as the hottest and driest since the famous year 1976. Three long weeks of heat wave marked the vines in July and August with temperatures around 39-40°C.
There was some hail on May 4th.
A violent storm with whirlwinds and tropical rains hit Gevrey on June 22nd at 3 pm, with 50 mm of water falling in just one hour. People’s basements were flooded, as was the church of Gevrey. The episode was classified as a natural disaster.
The vineyard soil descended into the village.
However, this made it possible to build up a good water reserve which helped the vines better cope with the spring and summer drought. The sector most affected in Gevrey was the Premiers Crus, Lavaux, Champeaux and the vines at the foot of the Gevrey Premiers Crus. The vineyards on the plain were relatively spared.
The drought season did not allow the rise of any diseases; therefore, there was no mildew, oidium or rot this year.
These extreme drought conditions have really marked the vines. The hillside vines and the old vines have held up rather well despite the lack of water because the deep roots allow them to find groundwater.
On the other hand, the young vines and those located in draining stony soils have suffered. Leaf loss can be observed on the clusters as well as heat-scalded grapes with fruit blight. This is a vine defence mechanism where it enters survival mode to try to save the fruit.
We decided not to remove the leaves from the vines this year and to trim higher to bring some shade to the grapes.
The few episodes of rain at the end of August, with 15 mm falling, made it possible to revive the photosynthesis process and unblock some of the vines that had stopped maturing due to water stress.
We then decided to start harvesting on 3rd September 2022, as we wanted to wait a little longer for the phenolic maturity of the anthocyanins and tannins not yet present at the end of August.
The first juices tasted were very sweet and not at all acidic. The skins were very thick, and the seeds were brown and ripe.
We must wait until pressing to find out the actual yield, which in all likelihood will be average given the climatic events.
Once again the early April frost threatened our vineyard as temperatures dropped to -4°C, yet only over a short period at sunrise which prevented the frost from setting in. We also changed our pruning method to ancestral pruning at two different times, thus postponing the final pruning for one month to shift the bud break on the vines.
Flowering started at the end of May, on the 26th. The process took 10 days with cool temperatures in the mornings and permanent winds, causing millerandage grape fertilization problems.
This spring and summer will remain in the annals as the hottest and driest since the famous year 1976. Three long weeks of heat wave marked the vines in July and August with temperatures around 39-40°C.
There was some hail on May 4th.
A violent storm with whirlwinds and tropical rains hit Gevrey on June 22nd at 3 pm, with 50 mm of water falling in just one hour. People’s basements were flooded, as was the church of Gevrey. The episode was classified as a natural disaster.
The vineyard soil descended into the village.
However, this made it possible to build up a good water reserve which helped the vines better cope with the spring and summer drought. The sector most affected in Gevrey was the Premiers Crus, Lavaux, Champeaux and the vines at the foot of the Gevrey Premiers Crus. The vineyards on the plain were relatively spared.
The drought season did not allow the rise of any diseases; therefore, there was no mildew, oidium or rot this year.
These extreme drought conditions have really marked the vines. The hillside vines and the old vines have held up rather well despite the lack of water because the deep roots allow them to find groundwater.
On the other hand, the young vines and those located in draining stony soils have suffered. Leaf loss can be observed on the clusters as well as heat-scalded grapes with fruit blight. This is a vine defence mechanism where it enters survival mode to try to save the fruit.
We decided not to remove the leaves from the vines this year and to trim higher to bring some shade to the grapes.
The few episodes of rain at the end of August, with 15 mm falling, made it possible to revive the photosynthesis process and unblock some of the vines that had stopped maturing due to water stress.
We then decided to start harvesting on 3rd September 2022, as we wanted to wait a little longer for the phenolic maturity of the anthocyanins and tannins not yet present at the end of August.
The first juices tasted were very sweet and not at all acidic. The skins were very thick, and the seeds were brown and ripe.
We must wait until pressing to find out the actual yield, which in all likelihood will be average given the climatic events.