The years out of Champagne
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
Year in high production, the winter is almost absent, it is a paradoxical Year yet where drought is a great spring, the month of April is thundering, temperatures astonish meteorologists, then mid-May is the return of cold, the vine is now ready to bloom and should wait a week of middle heat at the end of May to fertilize, fruit growing despite the cold and lack of sunlight, the month of June is mixed, July and August are catastrophically cold and rainy, late blight hits very hard, salaries are ahead for a day near, we must pass between the drops to treat the vine. In early August the first symptoms of Botrytis become, the vine to ripen late, the first harvest dates were originally announced for August 23! Then for the 27 to terms of maturities languishing, and finally begin picking the 28 (with a plot to 9.6 °). September is nice and warm, stopping outbreaks of rotten and finishing well maturity, wines well trimmed acidity, will ensure an assembly able to compete with time. The grapes are generally returned very healthy and ripe. The complexity of good wines with a lot of structure.
Year of small-scale production, the winter quite well from the beginning of January and runs until April, May brings the heat and then everything goes very quickly, too quickly since July 4, hail devastates our vineyard ( 100% for certain parcels), the rest of the Year is not only a long fight to save the rest of the grapes against mildew and disease timely injury of hail. The crop brings painfully 70% yield with the price of a sort severe and costly, we are all in a nice solidarity among winemakers to try to help each oagainst climatic events, the wines are very tasty flavor and moldy usual due the hail is not perceptible Tank! In November the wines tasted this amount fruity but a diverse tank to another. This vintage will be very interesting to discover in a few Years thanks to its rich aroma.
Beautiful year of production, the winter drags a bit, the seasons are not marked and saw tooth, the flower of 2nd dekad of June provides a good harvest of promise but bad weather in July and August will affects the quality threat to mildew and rot gray, cloudy September calm the disease but the harvest requires a rigorous sort. The harvest is very correct with the degree of acidity slightly below what does not prevail for a long life, picking began on September 12 under the sun.
Year 2004
Year of great production, it is one year of following the freeze of 2003. The vine seeks to compensate for the poor harvest of 2003 while leaving much grape. The winter is fairly marked, rather wet spring, and very beautiful June ensuring a perfect flowering. July remains beautiful on its first about fifteen then installation a time poor, expenses August and very rainy involving beginning of rot in the vines. At the beginning of September, return of the sun which dries the hearths of disease and ensures a good maturation. Good maturity good balance of the wines (the chardonnay are a little in withdrawal).
Year of the freezing of the Champagne vines. The winter is cold but is completed very quickly and February and especially Mars see sunny and hot days. The hatched vine end Mars to undergo one week of freezing at the beginning of April, (especially on April 7, freezing of 50% of the Champagne vines). The remainder of the step phenologic is held normally. August and July is particularly beautiful and hot, accelerating maturity. The grape harvest begins 28 august to finish on September 2 (exceptional date). Harvest is of the 2/3 of the normal. Maturity is enough advanced and misses acidity.
Beautiful year which starts with one dry and soft winter. Spring is rather wet and soft. The vine strips in mid-March. April is a little colder and of the frosts strikes the neighbouring villages. June is beautiful and hot making push the vine like a mushroom. The flower appears on June 15 on a significant harvest. July is very beautiful but August brought us rains and the rot settles and degrades the pinot Meunier most advanced in maturity. Harvest will be thus beautiful quantity with average medical grapes.
Winter is soft and wet. March will be colder but very very wet with significant volumes of water. April always sees much rain. Blossoming of the vine mid-April, the delay in the cycles of the vegetation to the sight of precipitations. Moreover, it is necessary to fight against the mildew which makes its appearance. May is beautiful and hot like June. Flowering appears at the end of June. July will be hot but wet large storms and at the end of July, a storm of hail makes us lose 30% of harvest on "Merfy". August will be beautiful but September sees the return of the rain. The vintage will be attacked by the rain. Maturity will be hard to reach. We gather the grapes on September 20 of the grapes of middle quality.
One year with the thirteen more moons (the second of continuation). The beginning is catastrophic with a storm without precede, then the soft and wet winter very early supports the appearance of the disease in the season. One hot May starting and dryness then moisture, the use of new weeding threat half of the Champagne vineyard. The rains of July make trouble the wine growers in deferment for the "Mildew". The flower occurs marvellously but the worms of the bunch in first then in second generation are very present. After a generous flowering, the rains and the storms of hail of July 2 ruin the hopes of certain vine growers. On the whole one year still quite difficult to manage on many points. Fortunately the harvest at summer saved and of beautiful quantity. The efforts were rewarded. Pleasant grape harvest under a blazing sun, a quality in half-tone in comparison with the rot and lack of acidity.
One year rather regular from the unfolding point of view of the vegetation. The frosts did not touch us and starting took place under normal conditions. Flowering trailed a little but proceeded completely favourably! A small fright with the false mildew of May (spots on sheets due to chemical used), and June during the accident of tractor. Put aside an attack of worms of first rather significant generation which will remain without consequence for harvest, one year calm in the field of the diseases. We pass through storms of hail of September and August! To note the splendid weather of the period of the maturation which offers a healthy vintage to us and of great quality? A vintage under considered and very beautiful, some rainy but splendid.
Climatic conditions were not optimal with one very wet spring, the heat wave on a fortnight of May, then the rain until June 10. The flower just was done during the beautiful days of June and an irregular way. July was insolently sad and wet with a beautiful vigilant protection (fortunately because the mildew watched for). Heat arrived too quickly and too strong during August and roasted the exposed grapes! The assessment of harvest is positive and reassuring on the control carried out along this fairly easy countryside! And that thanks to the beautiful harvest of Chardonnay and Pinot meunier of "MERFY" .
Year very very complicated to manage, as well by climatology as by the prophylactic strategy. The season starts with one hard winter and very cold what causes frosts of winters with died of stocks. Follow-up of almost one dry and cold spring with frosts of spring. Then the flower occurs relatively well for the village but follows the rain and the storms with fast and very intense attack of the mildew. The worms too much did not save us with an attack of first rather significant generation, in second generation that was more moderate. One notices a failure partial of the split weeding due to a difficult positioning of the second passage to the sight of climatology. The peduncle rot removes us a few kilos off. One notices a defect in protection "Mildew" in spite of constant rate and the use of products varied, especially after declaration of the disease. The failure comes can be dilution of the product in the vegetation during the phase of equatorial growth of the beginning of July, period of significant sensitivity of the vine after the flower. In conclusion, in spite of the very difficult year of great disease of the vines on the exploitation, we do not draw any too badly even if the old vines strongly made fall the average.
Year 96 was one year full with surprise. The winter trails and does not finish any. Then in May, appearance of the first heats, nature explodes and the vine too! Then June with beautiful and cold heat then of only one blow with the run-out, the remainder of the year is always cold and dry with always cold wind. Arrive September with rains, and storms. The grapes start to deteriorate. Then return of the good weather just when it is needed. And there, the vintage is beautiful quality with degrees and an acidity ever seen!
One year still a little difficult. January is rainy and soft. February is very wet and soft too. March sees significant rains intersected with periods of sun. April makes hatch the vine and of the frosts appear without consequence for us. At the beginning of May is very hot and makes well push the vine. June makes return the rain. The mildew settles more to leave us before the grape harvest. 27 June, dates from the flower. July is hot and heavy with storms supporting the disease. September is grey and cold. The grape harvest in this end of month proceeds under the rain, giving rotted grapes. The degrees turn around 9° GL. It is a little more beautiful for the chardonnay.
