Here are our notes from the 2022 harvest in our Bordeaux vineyards: Ch\u00e2teau Gantonnet, Ch\u00e2teau Victoria, Ch\u00e2teau Escalette, and Ch\u00e2teau de Barbe.<\/p>\n
Overall, annual weather conditions produced a very healthy crop. Winter rain built up the soil’s water supply, allowing the vines to cope well with water stress during the summer drought. The Ch\u00e2teau Escalette organically farmed vineyard seems to have tolerated the intense heat better, contributing to the vintage’s rapid growth starting at flowering. The harvest began two weeks early in good weather and lasted about a month for all the properties.<\/p>\n
At Ch\u00e2teau Victoria, with such a warm year, it was quite intense to time the harvest for optimal ripeness and strike the right balance between sugar, acidity, and quality of tannins. Following the usual pattern, the merlot grapes were picked first, followed by the petit verdot and the cabernet. At Ch\u00e2teau de Barbe, the merlot grapes were harvested first, particularly the plot “in front of the wood,” located on the slopes. The malbec and the cabernet vines followed.<\/p>\n
Of course, at Ch\u00e2teau Gantonnet, the white grape varieties opened this harvest season, followed by the merlot and the malbec vines. The juices of the whites and ros\u00e9s are fruity and tart, and the reds’ tannins are already silky.<\/p>\n
This year looks a bit like 2018 and suggests the wines will be concentrated, fruity, and stunningly decadent.<\/p>\n
Record heat and an early harvest for a very promising 2022 vintage!<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n