2011 Vintage, Quick off the mark !

2011 Vintage. Quick off the mark !

The 2011 winter months were mild and dry and then, in March, spring set in with summer -like temperatures and consequently an explosion in vegetation growth.

In a matter of days, buds started to appear early April, three weeks in advance in comparison with the 1994-2010 average.

As from end March, conditions were hot and dry for three months resulting in profuse flowering over a short period commencing in the third week of May, two weeks in advance of a normal year.

The weather changed radically as from 14 July to autumnal conditions, cold and wet.

In the second half of July, the first grape clusters began to appear but were slow to mature; on the whole, the sanitary condition was good.

Even though everything gained by the exceptional spring conditions was lost, the grape harvest started end August, to finish mid September with the return of the good weather, dry, sunny and very mild.

The ideal, sunny conditions for the grape harvest made it possible to organise the best picking time for each plot according to the state of maturity of the grapes.

Nadine Gublin