November 9th, 2020:
I'd sum up 2020 as the year when we stop complaining about the capricious nature of our climate and instead act, react, adapt and get used to it. As humans, we are much slower to adapt than plants and animals; or at least we do not have the same biological rhythm. It's difficult to be in harmony with nature, which we know so little about, when we continue to prioritize productivity and pseudo-modernism. In our case, we need to discern, focus, reflect, analyse and refine our methods in what we feel is the best direction. It's the esteemed common sense of a good peasant!
After four years of "vaches maigres" (ed note: a French expression translating to "skinny cows", or lean crops), 2020 was a blessed year for us. It's certainly a tad premonitory at the time of this writing, especially for you all in the USA... All this to say 2020 was the biggest crop we've ever harvested in our history as vignerons. This had led to a new term for us: doing our best to be "moderately prolix" in our work.
Other than a very dry summer (this is increasingly becoming the norm), the vegetative cycle was magnificent. We feel this result could not have been possible without our past efforts in the vineyards, the soil and the vines. The life of the soil and the deep roots of the vines into the mother rock are essential in navigating the hydric deficit we increasingly face. And the plant needs to feed its fruit for it to stay healthy.
The grapes followed a development cycle of ideal maturation, the result of intentionally pruning late to avoid spring frosts. This has proved efficient: our entire crop was up throughout the estate and of excellent quality. Our treatment regimen, perfected over the years, guaranteed that the vines stayed healthy for the crucial steps in its vegetative cycle.
Even as harvest approached, we never stopped our work in the vines. By the time we'd set up the cellar to receive its first grapes, we were sure there was no more risk. Oidium is increasingly rearing its head in our vineyards and requires extreme vigilance.
We were lucky to have a formidable team for the harvest, with a great ambience that felt alive and sincere. We had many loyal regulars and many new faces, all of whom got along swimmingly. After a very hot first week of picking essentially all the reds, temperatures became more manageable. These conditions allowed ripeness to slow down and gave us the opportunity to harvest everything at optimal maturity. The results are very encouraging, with whites that will produce mostly dry wine but also a petillant naturel (as well as an ancestrale rosé). The reds will be ideal and we can already sense density and finesse akin to "Hommage à Louis Derré" on a global level.
The pace of evolution of the new wines is slow but steady, we are following with precision the successful fermentations on the whites and the beginning of the élevage on the reds. We have a last vat of Pineau d'Aunis still macerating; we are following it day to day and it will go into a concrete egg, a new vessel for us this year.
We'll have also have a bit of moelleux in Jasnières this year. Other than that, we continue our experiments by vinifying a part of the "Vieilles Vignes Éparses" cuvée without S02 and well as a new cuvée this way.
We are now back in the vines, with the wines progressively evolving. The moment of fruit will soon fade for terroir to affirm itself. It looks like we'll be able to offer our full gamut and with good quantities on "Prémices", "Les Rosiers" and "L'Effraie". The reds and old vine cuvées will also be available in larger quantity and we believe they will be truly excellent: dry, elegant and precise.
As an aside, as I write these lines (just to give you an idea how much we have been fixated on your election and everything going on on the other side of the ocean), we got the news. I hope that this victory and a new president will enact the changes we all hope to see for a better future.
Best,
Eric and the whole Bellivière team.
