2006 : The Vintage of Precision

Lived and written by Stephane Derenoncourt

After a quiet winter with good rainfall, about 250 mm, from January to march. The sap rose in the plants following the same joyous rhythm of departure of the people who came to taste the mythical new 2005 vintage. The buds burst evenly, showing a generous volume, promise of a good quality vintage to come.

April
Cool soils and constant heat enabled the vines to grow freely, and madly. A little cool spell slowed the growth down and gave time for bud pruning. It was enthralling to see as much vegetation, an insurance against the anguish a lost crop can bring on.
April was dry, with only 30 mm of rainfall that evaporated fast due to the constant heat.

May
Trunk cleaning and disbudding ended followed by tying up work, but the soils remained dry and hard, heat has decidedly settled. The plough’s steel head wore out fast and the laboured soils left solid lumps as hard as rock on the ground. The sky gave 50 mm of storm rain, that slid fast into the ditches without any benefit to the vineyards unfortunately.

June
During the luminous 1rst days, the vines produced a grouped and beautifully aromatic flowering. We couldn’t anticipate the quality of fruit growth due to the drought, and thankfully there was going to be plenty of quantity. It only rained 28 mm in June. Word was out in Bordeaux : “its going to be another vintage like 2005”, or again “no leaf removing this year..., we’re back in 2003”. It was very dry and hot ! Vegetation was pretty early, and at the end of the month, some areas presented vines with thick leaves and lignified shoots. The soils stayed ever so dry and the soles of my sandals had never been as worn out at that time of year...

July
We favoured échardage to leaf removing . Ventilation was important as we noticed small attacks of botrytis, on the stems, and also on patches where the grapes were bunched. Green harvest began, without giving strict rules to stick to, like the number of bunches to pick per vine. The main message being : to ventilate !
Plants suffered from the drought, not one drop of rain fell between the 6th and 28th, fortunately storms came at the end of the month. Plant growth clearly stopped around the 25th and the rain was favourable to the Merlots turn.

August
This month of August will stay in the records as cold and poor in sunshine. The photosynthesis action of the leaves was reduced and the sun didn’t burn the acids. The general mood also became cloudy. The vintage had to be led to its term, and without heat it was going to take longer. “August makes the must” is the vintners common saying. September is the beginning of autumn, and we knew how damageable early botrytis attacks can be on the vineyard at this time. We decided to go back into the vineyards and rid the vines of their leaves, dropping about 1/3 of them. Bordeaux is well known for its mushroom production, isn’t it where one finds best Cepes in the world ?

September
Last run, with a scorchingly hot first week. We nearly regretted having removed as much foliage when we noticed some sun burnt and damaged grapes. Respite however was short lived. The sky grew menacing again. The alcohol potential was correct but not the ripeness of tannins, we had to be patient and wait.
From the 11th onwards everything was a rush. We had a rain festival with 150 mm in 10 days time. Bunches changed aspect, with bloated grapes. Botrytis alert areas were determined. We had to prune more in order to clear patches in order to gain a few days to organise the harvest properly. The sunburnt grapes that had been exposed to the setting sun had fragile skins, and juice started seeping from them, it was too much, it was the end !
Few vintages needed as much care and precision in grape tasting to organise the correct harvest order. Each plot had to be treated precisely and differently, even within its self.

Finally we harvested quickly, the sorting tables were vital this year. Serious “domaines” managed to produce nice wine. The 2006 grapes didn’t have the potential or firmness of the 2005’s, but they had freshness, with good weight in alcohol, very correct tannin ripeness in a firm style.
The choice of vinification style was the last parameter, quantity and quality of extract had to be measured case by case against the fragility of the grapes. We owe the good quality of the 2006 vintage to the dry and hot spring, it enabled the vegetation to stop its growth neatly, and to the dynamic approach of the vintners who’s vineyards look more and more like gardens.

Kindly translated by Laurie Matheson