Christophe Daviau of Domaine de Bablut sends out a vintage report which is always interesting to read so I thought I’d summarise his thoughts in English for you.
This is what he had to say (translated from French).
‘We always hope that reports of small yields are exaggerated but no, it’s rarely the case and this year is no exception.
After good volumes in 2018 those of 2019 will certainly go down as some of the smallest in recent years. Losses are not as bad as in 2017 but we’re not far away. It has to be said that it’s been a tough year for the plant. To kick off we came out of winter in water deficit (as in 2018 but in this case we came out of it remarkably well).
Then, we had two frosts a month apart: the 4th April and the 6th May. Those parcels pruned late escaped the first frost but were hit hard the second time. Estimates of losses vary between 30 and 50%. And then, a series of climatic conditions that really put us to the test: Coulure at flowering (uneven setting of the berries), water stress, burning of the vines during the excessive heat. In brief, a year of real sufferance for the plants.
All this makes us worry that we’ll find a character in our wines that reflects this suffering in the grapes (so important to know our raw ingredients and their terroirs in order to guide us when it comes to the vinifications). We picked very ripe grapes, high in sugar and very aromatic but with very thick skins. There is good fruit in general however for the reds, we won’t be pushing our extractions too far (as we are accustomed to doing) in order to not extract this ‘character of sufferance’.
To conclude, there will be only half the normal quantity of dry white this vintage, very very little sweet wine, only half of Rocca Nigra and no Petra Alba at all.
So, let’s think positive and enjoy the lovely juicy bablies from 2018 which will be available soon. These lovely wines are ‘easy’ and delicious bringing a big smile to our faces.
In other news, I had the great pleasure of having a ‘stagiaire’ who was applied and interested: Antoine my eldest son. Another big smile!
Christophe Daviau
