In recent years we’ve had a lot of very sunny seasons with temperatures exceeding 40°C. What effect does that have on the vines, their fruit and ultimately the wine we drink?
Vines have the requirement of a minimum amount of sun, light and heat to ripen sufficiently. Black grapes require more than white grapes which is one of the reasons that the Loire has historically been a white wine region.
In the past 15 years we’ve had some incredibly hot, sunny vintages and that’s been great news for our reds.
Sunshine ripens the grapes, increases the sugar content in the juice and as a result of that, the potential alcohol of the final wines.
2011 was a hot, dry vintage with very little rain and endless days of sunshine (seems like a dim and distant memory eh?). In Cumeray we had not a single drop of water between June and September.
Wines from 2011 are rich and ripe. On the nose, you can sense the sun and smell the lush ripeness of the fruit. 10 years of ageing have softened the tannins and what you have now is a delicious, fruity, rich wine with loads of concentration and added character from 10 years in bottle.
Wines from cooler vintages (hello 2021) tend to be leaner and more precise, higher in acidity and fresher on the palate. Just as good but different!
L’Envolée is a Cabernet Franc from Gerald Vallée in the St Nicolas de Bourgueil appellation. It’s his top wine and he foot treads the cap (he gets into the huge wooden tanks during the fermentation and pushes down the skins with his feet).
