Larcis Ducasse, St Emilion’s Bijou gets ready

Ready, set go! at Larcis Ducasse (#chateaularcisducasse), Premier Grand Cru Classé for the new vintage 2016. Harvest starts this Tuesday 11th October for the Merlot which makes up 78% of the vineyard and Cabernet Franc will follow later. It normally lasts 10 to 12 days in all but as the sun continues to shine there …

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Bordeaux 2014 Cabernets being picked in Autumn conditions

After 9 weeks of temperatures more like the heat of the summer, autumn has arrived in Bordeaux with its rainshowers (27mm fell yesterday in St Emilion) and cloudy weather. It is now the turn of the Cabernets to be picked, and they are ripe (around 13° potential alcohol). (The first Merlots to be picked at …

Visiting the wine region of Bordeaux? St Emilion is a must

St Emilion is my very favorite place to visit. It is the only one of Bordeaux's wine regions to have a worthy heart and is well worth dedicating a day to visit its wine region. Its not just its wonderful cloisters, its cobbled streets that wind and turn revealing beautiful old buildings, its old falling …

What to expect Bordeaux Primeurs 2012? 5 Keys to producing successful wines

The networks are already filled with views about #bdx12 and the official week has not yet started. Bordeaux is already beginning to fill with the foreign faces of the world wine trade, the early birds to taste the baby vintage 2012, already prodded and poked with barely six months of age. Criticised but surprisingly not yet …

Merlot Harvest Bordeaux 2012 Underway

The pickers are out in force all over the vineyards of Bordeaux and the noisier harvesting machines too. It is the Merlot that is under the secateurs and looks good. Most people started this week and the weather has stayed pretty fine. The grapes have been able to come in cool and fresh with helps …

Bordeaux 2012 Merlot Harvest set to start 1st October (record late date)

Potential alcohol levels are already highish for Merlot (around 12.5°) but malic acid is still high but slowly reducing. Producers are holding off to harvest next week after the two days of rain forecast this week. The rate of ripening has slowed down and any increase in sugar levels is due to concentration. The levels of …

2008 Bordeaux: Small Yields help with the quality

Yves Raymond of Chateau Saransot Dupre, Listrac, Haut Medoc comments on the recent 2008 harvest at his property in Listrac: "I have just finished the harvet and this year have very small yields - around 35 hectolitres per hectare. Thanks to this small quantity the quality will be at least equal to 2007 and perhaps even …

2007 Bordeaux Vintage Roundup

Overall Evaluation of the 2007 Wines: Those that could afford to do the work in the vineyard and severly select in the cellars produced fruity soft medium-bodied wines for earlyish drinking. Wines predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon were the winners this year over Merlot. The overall winners this year were the dry white wines and …