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Alors que les vendanges se sont terminées par le ramassage de la Carmenère en ce début du mois d’octobre, il apparait que le millésime 2011 est extrêmement atypique tant du point de vue de la climatologie que des évènements qui se sont produits au cours du cycle végétatif. L’activité viticole reste largement dépendante des phénomènes météorologiques qui conditionnent la nature des interventions au vignoble et la qualité des vins que nous produisons.

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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

Cantenac, 7 October 2011.

本年度的采收工作以10月初采摘加荷莫奈葡萄来收尾，2011年份酒从气候角度来看应是很另类的一款酒，因为该年份的葡萄在生长周期中遭遇了特殊情况。葡萄酒产业在很大程度上还是非常依赖于天气，各种天气现象决定了葡萄园的收成和我们酒的品质。

气候和物候： 接近3月底，葡萄正常地开始发芽，但是4月异常干热的气候导致了枝叶突发激长。据数据统计，本年度同比常年缺水率达90%，温度比常年高5度左右，4月共计降雨量只有7mm，而正常年份则是应有70mm，4月日照如7月般酷热。5月干热气温持续。 从而，5月10日已经开始开花，而正常花期则是在6月。由于枝叶异常迅速突长，葡萄园里剪枝除叶的工作接连不断，保留主枝的工作为一大重点。 6月初，我们的工作已经比正常年份提前了三周。特干的气候开始限制葡萄枝的生长。反气旋气候的滞留导致了干热气候的持续。40°C的高温导致的叶不茂盛或者地势不利处的葡萄受到灼晒。这一切都明示了2011年份酒将是早熟的年份，红葡萄的采摘时间预计为8月底。由此看来有必要特别关注葡萄园里的绿色工程，以防部分葡萄受太直接的日照。 但是，天不可测，虽然初期气候炎热，7月气温骤降，多雨的8月又减缓了葡萄成熟的步伐。 今年纪隆德地区在葡萄生长周期剧烈暴雨不断。6月4日玛歌村部分地区的葡萄园受不轻冰雹灾。幸运的是我们的葡萄园受的影响不大，只有小部分边缘地块的葡萄略受损。9月1日，圣爱斯泰夫产区和两海间产区的部分葡萄园受重大冰雹灾。总的算来该季受冰雹灾的葡萄园面积超过1000多公顷…

葡萄园的工作： 布莱恩的葡萄园的工作一直注重有害生物管理的原则，而且2年多来，布莱恩在其20%的葡萄园实现了有机种植。种植园的总体工作追求有效管理和环保的共同目标。 本年度寄生虫病压力微乎其微，霜霉病和白粉病均未发生。正常的寄生虫病很容易就被掌控了，在发芽初期飞蛾袭击导致些小损失，但受损面积非常有限。生活在土壤里的蛾幼虫到夜间飞出来吞食初发芽。这种蛾幼虫可能导致诸如葡萄、谷物、蔬菜等农作物的重灾。对农民来说这是大祸害。4月炎热的天气和葡萄的早发芽是导致我们首遇此灾的原因。 葡萄园的工作有利于产量和制造适合葡萄成熟的小气候环境。2011年的工作是“量体裁衣”型的。重点工作是：替年轻的葡萄进行疏枝，避免其受旱灾；多果葡萄藤上的整穗修果；部分过于茂盛地块的导叶等。部分葡萄因旱情而叶不足。所以必须要根据不同情况来决定需要在葡萄园进行的工作，因而2011实不愧为实际工作执行的范例年份…

葡萄的成熟度： 临近葡萄采摘的日子，我们观察到葡萄成熟度的情况令人信心备增，有望能有一个高品质的收成。9月12日，采摘工作以摘美乐葡萄开始，这是非常早熟的一年。在9月20日至27日间摘完赤霞珠。10月10日采摘较晚熟的加荷莫奈葡萄。 美乐的度数很天然：12.5 至 14.2%的酒精度，酸度为每升3.5至4克（H2SO4）。酚类物含量高，这很重要，它的可提性也很好。本年份的酒将是强劲和圆润的。 赤霞珠的天然度数是12.0 至12.7% Vol以上，酸度为每升4.5至5克（H2SO4）。和美乐一样，酚类物含量高，而且气味芬芳，令人期待一款高品质的好年份酒。 毫无置疑，葡萄的分拣工作是在酿酒前保证尽可能最好酒品的关键：一般来说，总有一些未熟果（夏季天气变化导致的未熟），干果和枯萎果，这些绝对需要被全部剔除。2010年底布莱恩新置办的电子光学葡萄分拣机可以最高效地实现这一分拣剔除工作。

小结： 采摘工作刚结束的2011年份酒，是令人期盼的一个年份，因为葡萄的酚类物质有潜力，而且香味特别浓郁。这无疑是早熟的一年，春日经历炎热干旱，继而夏日凉爽多雨，必须有严密的分拣工作才能剔除巨变天气导致的未熟干枯果。酿酒过程将令我们有机会发挥该年份葡萄的潜力，目前看来，这将是一个与往年不同且不易的年份酒。

2011年10月7日于康特纳。