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As this article is being written, the last bins are being brought into the vat-room and our harvesters are preparing to take the bus back to Lormont… The harvest is ending in good spirits, and the past three weeks have been almost perfect. Christophe Capdeville, our operations director, is thrilled by the vintage’s quality. The vats that were tasted yesterday in the presence of our specialized oenologist, Eric Boissennot, are highly promising. They show signs of richness, power and an excellent balance thanks to their surprising acidity. The tannin indices are higher than last year which already set a record! The color of the musts is magnificent. The TPI (total polyphenol index) is 10% higher than in 2009! The Cabernet Sauvignons, which we just finished bringing in, are already dense and powerful and, like last year, show great promise.

For its first year in use, the optical sorting machine was ideal for removing shot and dried berries (very dry summer). It was a perfect year to test its performance and we were extremely satisfied since the need for precise sorting was pressing.

In the cellar, we bring the vats up 2 and a half times every day and undertake frequent délestages (rack and return technique) for the finest vats, in order to give as much color and concentration as possible to the musts, which are already highly colorful and aromatic.

We vatted our young Carmenères that were planted in 2007. This year, we have three special barrels from the Baron cooperage, where alcoholic fermentation takes place and will malolactic fermentation will take place (entire vinification process in wood). The very first vats of Merlot will join them in the next few days and those of Cabernet in a few weeks.

So there you are…now all we have to do is put away our tractors, store away our shining bins, clean and disassemble the harvest receiving area until next year, then let time do its work...

 Caption:

Pepito emptying his basket by Sylvain Harrison (www.sylvainharrison.fr)

我们写这段文字的时候，最后几箱葡萄被运送到了酿造车间，我们的采摘工人们也开始登上回陆尔蒙的公共汽车… 为期三周的采摘工作在很好的气氛中圆满结束，一切都接近完美。生产开发部经理克里斯托弗•卡普德维尔 Christophe Capdeville 对本年份的品质深表欣慰。我们的首席酿酒师Eric Boissennot参与了昨天进行的原汁品尝，大家一致认为这应是很好的年份，丰富，强劲，非常平衡，酸度饱满。去年的单宁指数已创历史纪录，而今年的单宁指数比去年还要高！生葡萄汁的色泽极佳！IPT总多酚指数比2009同比高10%。和去年一样，刚刚采摘的赤霞珠已经体现浓厚强劲的特征，给我们带来无限期望。

电子光学葡萄分拣机今年首次使用就发挥了极佳的作用，几无遗漏地剔除了未熟果和枯萎果（今夏干燥）。今年正是个测试该机器性能的好时机，结果令我们很满意，因为精密的分拣是高品质的前提保证。

在酿造车间里，每个酿造罐每天都经过两次半翻腾，最好的葡萄原汁更是经过频繁的翻腾喷淋，以获取最好的颜色和葡萄汁的浓度，尽管葡萄汁的颜色已经很好，也很芬芳。

2007年种植的年青的加荷莫奈葡萄已经装入橡木桶。今年我们从男爵橡木桶厂订制了三个特殊的橡木桶，专用于酒精发酵和乳酸发酵（全程木酿造）。最先采摘的美乐葡萄几天后开始这一过程，赤霞珠葡萄几周后再开始。

好了...现在剩下的工作就是开回我们的拖拉机，收起焕然如新的背篓，拆卸清理采摘运输设备区域，为明年做好准备，接下来，就是让时间来继续工作了...

图片： Pepito清空他的背篓 由Sylvain Harrison摄影 (www.sylvainharrison.fr)