Vintage 2016

The 2016 vintage is contrasted. Until mid-July it is a late vintage, marked by a late winter with a lot of water, causing problems of cryptogamic diseases (mildew) the second part (veraison and maturation) is marked by high heat, a high luminosity and a lack of water this time causing in some sectors some small hydric stress.

The winter of 2015/2016 was mild, but a slightly cooler March and heavy rainfall in April delayed budburst. We barely escaped the cold week at the end of April and only a few terroirs at the bottom of the hillsides suffered some losses. Heavy rainfall from April to June disrupted vine emergence and delayed flowering. As a reaction to the heat stress of 2015, the grapes are coming out generously and the harvest looks good. Certain sectors that suffered early attacks of mildew on inflorescences are recording losses. In June, the vines were growing vigorously. Controlling this important growth while keeping the soils clean (control of grassing) and being able to maintain a regular rhythm of treatments was necessary.

From July onwards, everything was reversed. Terroirs with light and draining soils suffer a lot and blockages of maturity are frequent, especially on Riesling grape varieties. On soils where the roots are deep, it was possible to produce elegant, racy, often tense wines with good ageing potential.

While some early and draining terroirs could be harvested early, other terroirs with less sunshine and heavier geology will have been harvested later, taking advantage of beautiful autumn days in October. The Pinot family matured quite quickly, but Riesling and Gewurztraminer took 120 days after flowering, or even more, to reach a good physiological maturity. The balances (acid/sugar) are good and with a low proportion of malic acid in the wines. The wines just finished are already characterized by a mouth of great purity and a beautiful precision.

2016 has a good potential in terms of quality and ageing potential. The vineyards that have produced a reasonable harvest have produced harmonious, well-structured wines with good maturity/acidity balances. The textures of the wines are elegant and complex.

Racine numero 2

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