While the harvest is coming to a close with the picking of the Carmenère at the beginning of this month of October, the 2011 vintage appears to have been extremely atypical, both in terms of its climatic conditions and in the events that have occurred in the vineyard throughout the 2011 vine cycle.  Vine-growing continues to be largely dependent on the vagaries of the weather, which dictates the type of work needed to be done in the vineyard and the quality of the wines we produce.

Weather conditions and phenology:

Bud-break in the vines occurred on close to normal dates at the end of March. However, dry, hot weather during April brought about a sudden acceleration in vine shooting. Weather data for that month show a water deficit stress of 90% and temperatures 5°C higher than the average of the last 30 years.  Rainfall was only 7mm (just over a quarter of an inch) in April, compared with over 70mm (2.75 inches) in a normal year. The amount of sunshine was comparable with that of a month of July. Then, May had the same hot and dry weather conditions.

The flowering process had already begun by May 10, as opposed to the beginning of June in a normal year. Vine canopy tasks were stepped up to keep pace with vegetation growth, which was amazingly quick. De-suckering work was carried out at great speed.

By the time June arrived, the vines were easily three weeks ahead of schedule. Severe drought conditions then started to slow down vine vegetation growth. The anticyclonic conditions continued prolonging the spell of hot and dry weather. Scorching temperatures of around 40°C (104°F) caused sunburn on vines where the canopies were sparse and where rows were well exposed. It now looked certain that the 2011 vintage would be a very early one, with forecasts for a red grape harvest beginning at the end of August. Clearly, vigilance would be needed in the vines, particularly with regard to canopy cover, so as to limit the amount of sun coming into direct contact with the fruit.

And yet we can never predict anything with certainty. True enough, the early part of the vine cycle may have advanced quickly because of high temperatures, but sudden cool temperatures arrived in July, followed by rainy weather in August, and  the ripening process slowed down. 

Severe thunderstorms occurred in Gironde throughout the season. On June 4, some parts of the Margaux vineyard were hit badly by hail. Luckily, our vines were largely spared from this setback: a few plots on the edge of the estate had minor damage. On September 1, the Saint Estèphe appellation and vineyards in Entre Deux Mers suffered significant losses to their crops for the same reasons. Over 1,000 hectares have reportedly been hit by hail in Gironde over the 2011 growing season.

Vine-growing methods:

Brane-Cantenac’s vine-growing methods follow the principles of environmentally-friendly integrated crop management; and for the last two years, 20% of the vineyard surface area is grown organically. The vine-growing methods as a whole conform to the objectives of good management and preservation of the environment.

The threat of vine pests was extremely low this year. Downy mildew and powdery mildew posed no problem. The usual vine pests were present but were easily kept at bay. Only an attack of vine weevils during bud-break caused damage, which on some vines was significant, but only over a very limited surface area. This pest is the larva of a moth which lives in the soil and comes out at nightfall to devour the buds that are breaking open. When present, it can cause serious damage to crops, such as vines, cereals and farm vegetables and is a real scourge for farmers. The coinciding of hot April weather with early vine bud-break was the reason for the ravages of this pest, which until this year we had never experienced in our vineyard. 

Specific jobs carried out in the vines help control yields and create a micro-climate around the bunches beneficial to the ripening process.  In 2011, the work done in the vines was adapted and performed on a case-by-case basis. Priority was given to green harvesting the young vines (so that they didn’t suffer from the drought), de-compacting vines with heavy crop loads, and de-leafing and green harvesting the most vigorous plots. Some parcels, which had been affected by sunburn or which had sparse foliage were not de-leafed. The watchword in the vineyard is observation, so that a particular job can be planned and done as and when necessary; and 2011 was really a good case in point…

Grape ripeness:

As the harvest approached, ripeness checks on grape samples gave encouraging results and promised a high quality vintage. The picking began with the Merlot on September 12, which is an exceptionally early harvesting date. The Cabernet Sauvignon was brought in between 20 and 27 September. Carmenère, which is a late-ripening variety, was picked on October 10.

The Merlot has natural alcoholic degrees of between 12.5 and 14.2° and acidities of 3.5 to 4.0g/litre (in H2SO4). Its phenolic content is high, and its extractability is very good. The wines are powerful and round.

The Cabernet has naturally alcoholic degrees of between 12.0 and over 12.7° and acidities of 4.5 to 5.0g/litre (in H2SO4). Like the Merlot, it has great phenolic richness and has great aromatic potential, promising wines of excellent quality.

It is obvious that the sorting table this year was of capital importance in order to ensure that the crop brought in was of the best possible quality before going into vat for fermentation. There were indeed bunches on which berries had stayed green (due to poor veraison linked to the summer’s climatic variations), had been sunburnt, or were shrivelling, and which had to be discarded imperatively. The optical sorting line that was introduced at Brane-Cantenac in 2010 was therefore the perfect tool to have at our disposal to carry out this sorting operation efficiently.

Conclusion:

The 2011 vintage, of which the last grapes are now being brought in, promises to be very good quality, thanks to its very high phenolic and aromatic potential. The vine cycle was marked by great precocity, very hot weather and severe spring drought conditions, followed by a cooler and rainier summer. Rigorous sorting of the crop was essential in order to eliminate grapes which had been adversely affected by the year’s climatic excesses.  The vinification revealed the potential of this vintage, which so far appears to be an atypical year and a difficult one to compare with another.

Christophe Capdeville